Aerial Exercise in Response to North Korea's Hypersonic Threat
The Ministry of National Defense announced that South Korea, the United States, and Japan conducted an aerial exercise on the 15th over international waters near the Korean Peninsula, with the deployment of the U.S. military's B-1B strategic bomber. The exercise involved South Korean F-15K fighter jets and Japanese F-2 fighter jets.
The Ministry of National Defense stated, "This exercise was conducted to enhance the deterrence and response capabilities of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan against North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threats, including the recent claims of hypersonic missile launches." It added, "The three countries will continue to expand trilateral exercises based on close coordination, strengthening cooperation to deter North Korean threats and respond jointly."
The trilateral aerial exercise involving the U.S. B-1B strategic bomber took place for the first time in over two months since November 3 of last year. The B-1B is a supersonic strategic bomber capable of flying at a maximum speed of Mach 1.25 (1,530 km/h) and a maximum range of 12,000 km. It can be deployed from the U.S. military base in Guam to the Korean Peninsula within two hours. Although it does not carry nuclear weapons, it can be equipped with up to 57 tons of armaments, which is significantly more than other U.S. strategic bombers such as the B-2 (22 tons) and B-52 (31 tons).
North Korea claimed on the 6th that it launched a "new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM)" and asserted that it applied new carbon fiber composite materials and improved flight and guidance control systems.
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