US, S. Korea to hold joint air force drill in early December

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The air forces of the US and S. Korea are scheduled to hold a regular joint drill next month, with the US military sending six stealth fighters to S. Korea for the drill, a S/ Korean defense ministry official said on Friday.

The drill, called Vigilant Ace, will run from Dec. 4 to 8, the official said. In addition to the six F-22 Raptor stealth fighters, up to four F-35A Lightening stealth fighter jets were likely to participate in the Vigilant Ace exercise according to a US Air Force official.

The US combat airplanes will fly from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, and stay at an air base in S. Korea throughout the joint air drill, Yonhap news agency reported. It would mark the first time that six US stealth fighter jets make a sortie to the Korean Peninsula.

File photo of a US-S. Korea joint military exercise in 2013 /AFP Photo

About 12,000 US personnel will participate with S. Korean troops while 230 aircrafts will be flown at eight US and S. Korean military installations, the US Seventh Air Force said in a news statement. US Marine Corps and Navy troops will also participate, it added.

"This realistic combat exercise is designed to enhance interoperability between US and Republic of Korea forces and increase the combat effectiveness of both nations," it said.

The Vigilant Ace drill is held regularly by the US and S. Korea to simulate wartime defenses.

Pyongyang strongly protests against joint drills of this nature, which it views as aggression against the isolated state.

Three nuclear-powered US aircraft carriers have conducted maritime exercises recently in waters off S. Korea's east coast.

(Front photo: A US F-22 Raptor fighter flies over European airspace during a flight to Britain from Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in Romania April 25, 2016. /Reuters Photo)

Source(s): Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency