Seoul, Feb 9 The South Korean and US air forces will kick off a joint aerial exercise this week in a bid to enhance interoperability, the South's armed forces said on Monday.
The Buddy Squadron exercise will take place at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 65 kilometres south of Seoul, from Monday through Friday, according to the Air Force.
It will involve South Korea's KF-16 fighter jets and the US F-16 fighters, along with the F-35A fighter jet and the FA-50 light attack fighter, to be deployed for a combined operations training.
This year, the Air Force plans to more than double the participating forces per session and dramatically increase the sortie, or the number of deployments, while reducing the number of yearly training sessions to four from eight.
The Buddy Squadron exercise is a battalion-level drill conducted in turns between the South Korean and US air forces, aimed at sharing air-to-air tactics and conducting integrated tactical training involving fourth- and fifth-generation fighter jets.
Asked whether the plan to halve the number of drills is in consideration of North Korea's protest against joint drills with the United States, an Air Force official said the decision was made in consultations between the allies.
"The number of training sessions this year was set through consultations between South Korea and the US, in light of the decommissioning of US A-10 aircraft last year, and the restructuring of assets," said Lt. Col. Jang Dong-ha, during a regular press briefing.
In regard to speculations that the cutdown reflects Washington's weakened security commitment to the Korean Peninsula, the official said the number of participating aircraft has more than doubled compared with average years, and the sortie will be dramatically increased, Yonhap news agency reported.
The US military decommissioned its aging fleet of A-10 aircraft stationed in South Korea last year, as part of its military modernisation initiative in response to evolving security threats from potential adversaries.
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