TOKYO, March 14 (KUNA) -- South Korea and the US conducted air drills with advanced fighter jets over a US aircraft carrier this week as part of a major ongoing allied exercise, Yonhap News Agency reported Friday, citing the US Air Force.
The drills took place Thursday in connection with the annual Freedom Shield exercise, mobilizing two South Korean F-35As, two US Air Force F-35As and one US Navy F-35C deployed from the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier that visited South Korea earlier this month, according to the Seventh Air Force stationed in South Korea.
"Rehearsing combat operations with ROKAF, USAF, and US Navy fifth generation aircraft demonstrates the unmatched, high level of readiness and capability of our forces," Lt. Gen. David Iverson, Seventh Air Force commander, said in a release, using the acronym of the South Korean Air Force's official name.
F-35s are fifth-generation fighter jets that incorporate advanced technologies, such as stealth capabilities. The US military does not permanently station fifth-generation fighters in South Korea but has often deployed them for joint drills.
North Korea, which operates a fleet of mostly aging Soviet-era jets, has previously reacted angrily to US stealth fighter deployments to South Korea, accusing Washington of heightening tensions. Pyongyang has long decried the allies' joint drills as rehearsals for an invasion, while Seoul and Washington maintain that such exercises are defensive in nature.
The North fired multiple close-range ballistic missiles toward the Yellow Sea on Monday in an apparent protest against the allies' military drills, the first known ballistic missile test since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House, according to Yonhap. (end) mk