By Yi Whan-woo
The United States plans to send F-22 Raptor and F-35A Lightening II stealth fighter jets to South Korea next month for an air show, the Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday.
The planes will conduct test flights and be displayed at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2017, slated for Oct. 17 to 22 at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
The presence of such strategic assets in South Korea will be seen as a warning to North Korea, military officials here said.
The F-22 Raptor is considered one of the most-feared U.S. strategic weapons by the Kim Jong-un regime. The all-weather stealth fighter jet can fly at a maximum speed of mach 2.5, with its twin engines producing 70,000 pounds of thrust combined, which is more than that of any current fighter engine.
The plane last visited South Korea in February 2016 when North Korea launched the Unha-3 satellite rocket, which was seen as a cover for a ballistic missile test. The fifth-generation F-22 fighter jets are stationed at the U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan.
But the South Korean and U.S. military are believed to be considering their rotational deployment on the Korean Peninsula along with other U.S. strategic assets as part of efforts to better press North Korea.
The F-35A, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, is South Korea’s next-generation fighter jet that the country will put into service next year.
This will be the first time the jets will come to South Korea. They will be directly sent from the U.S. mainland for the ADEX show.
The supersonic, multi-role F-35A features advanced stealth, integrated avionics, sensor fusion and superior logistics support.
A squadron of F-35s can also handle missions traditionally performed by specialized aircraft, such as air-to-air combat, air-to-ground strikes, electronic attack, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
The F-35A is among the three variants of the F-35, including the F-35B that the U.S. deployed to South Korea, Tuesday.
Four F-35Bs, along with two B-1B Lancer bombers, were dispatched in a show of force against North Korea’s sixth nuclear test, Sept. 3, and Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile test, Sept. 14.
They carried out a bombing drill at the training field in Gangwon Province and flew over the airspace near the Military Demarcation Line before heading eastward out of the peninsula.
The F-35A is capable of conventional takeoff and landing, while the F-35B can perform short takeoff and vertical landing.
The defense ministry said ADEX 2017 will be held in the largest scale, bringing over 400 defense contractors from 22 countries.
It is expected to attract 98 defense ministers from 60 countries and over 250,000 visitors, both domestic and international.