F-22 Raptor fighter coming to Korea

F-22 Raptor fighter

By Jun Ji-hye

The F-22 Raptor fighter is scheduled to fly to Korea from the U.S. in October for the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition 2015 (Seoul ADEX).

According to the U.S. Air Combat Command (ACC) website, its F-22 Raptor Demo Team is visiting Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, for six days from Oct. 20, with the Lockheed Martin F-22.

It is unknown how many fighter jets will come.

An Air Force officer noted that a flight demonstration team in general performs with two aircraft.

Several state-of-the-art stealth fighters visited Korea in 2013 to join the allies’ annual Foal Eagle exercise, which involves land, sea and air maneuvers. But this is the first time for them to be featured at the air show.

The F-22 Raptor Demo Team performs maneuvers that demonstrate the super-maneuverability of the plane.

The team is stationed at the home of the ACC at Langley, Va.

Meanwhile, Northrop Grumman is also pushing for displaying its very-high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (HUAV) Global Hawk in the event, according to industrial sources. Its mock-up was shown during the last event in 2013.

The ROK military plans to purchase 40 Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters as the nation’s next-generation fighters (F-X) for 7.3 trillion won ($7 billion), by 2021.

It also plans to buy four Global Hawk surveillance drones for 1 trillion won by 2017, to complete its Kill Chain pre-emptive strike capability.

The biennial Seoul ADEX, which began in 1996, includes indoor exhibitions, demonstration flights and an outdoor exhibition of aircraft and ground equipment.

A total of 361 exhibitors, as well as 72 delegations representing 45 countries, took part in the last event.

Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye