Debut Of The Republic Of Korea’s First F-35A

[spazsinbad]

Debut Of The Republic Of Korea’s First F-35A
28 Mar 2018 LM PR

"Fort Worth, Texas, March 28, 2018 – Republic of Korea and U.S. government leaders celebrated the public debut or ‘roll out’ of the first Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) F-35A Lightning II at the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Fort Worth production facility today. The event marks a major F-35 program milestone, strengthening national defense and global partnerships....

...The Republic of Korea’s F-35 program of record calls for 40 F-35A aircraft acquired through the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales program and to be built at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas. The first aircraft will be delivered to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, where ROKAF pilots and maintainers will begin training. F-35s will arrive in country in 2019 to the Republic of Korea’s main operational base at Cheongju...."

Photo: "Photo credit: Alex Groves" https://www.f35.com/assets/uploads/imag ... ny_211.jpg

Source: https://www.f35.com/news/detail/u.s.-an ... f-koreas-f

[spazsinbad]

US, South Korea celebrate first South Korean F-35A and ‘iron clad’ alliance
28 Mar 2018 Daniel Cebul

"WASHINGTON ― Officials from South Korea and the United States gathered in Fort Worth, Texas, Wednesday to celebrate the public debut of the South Korean Air Force’s first F-35A Lightning II multirole fighter jet. Both a celebration of interoperable military hardware and shared values, officials from the two nations emphasized the F-35A will serve to protect peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula....

...While South Korean officials agreed that partnership on the F-35 was both militarily and symbolically important, they stressed the importance of on-time delivery. South Korean Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Seong-Yong Lee said that because the U.S. Air Force operates F-35s in South Korea, the aircraft’s addition to the fleet will “enhance the ROK and USAF interoperability and further strengthen the iron clad ROK-U.S. alliance.” He added that his forces “need the aircraft to be manufactured on schedule and need our pilots, maintainers and support staff to be trained on time.”

South Korean Air Force pilots and maintainers will soon begin training on the aircraft at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. F-35s will begin arriving at the Asian nation’s main operational base at Cheongju, South Korea, in 2019...."

Source: https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/03 ... -alliance/

[Gamera]

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190329000542

Two F-35A stealth fighters arrive in South Korea for first time

2019/03/29

The South Korean Air Force took over two F-35A fighter jets from the United States at a key base Friday, acquiring fighter jets with stealth capabilities for the first time.

After the fighter jets are completely combat deployed in April or May, South Korea would join the list of countries that have stealth warplanes, including China, Japan and Russia.

[XanderCrews]

Slowman assured me this was impossible

[spazsinbad]

F-35A 2대, 1만3천여㎞ 날아 청주기지 첫 도착…스텔스기 보유국 / 연합뉴스 (Yonhapnews)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxg0Ul7lEdw [Watch South Korea’s F-35As arriving home]

[mixelflick]

So we could see ROK F-35A's tangling with N. Korean Shenjang F-5's (Mig-17 derivative).

Sweet

In a more serious vein, this gives the S. Koreans the ability to strike at his nuclear facilities and other high value targets. The difference of course, is that with the F-35 they'll never see it's coming.

Must be un-nerving to say the least...

[sprstdlyscottsmn]

all the more motivation for Kim to want to end the war.

[mixelflick]

Amazing to watch the F-35 proliferate.

Can't be good news for China/N.Korea. In addition to the US, they're now surrounded by Japanese and S. Korean F-35's. China may have stealth birds of their own, but this has to be un-nerving. That and the F-35B's are on US light carriers that could show up.... anywhere.

Throw in F-22's and B-2's rotating in and out of the area, and you face a most formidable force of allied aircraft. I think even with their J-20's/S-400's, it has to be concerning..

[squirrelshoes]

Amazing to watch the F-35 proliferate.

Can't be good news for China/N.Korea. In addition to the US, they're now surrounded by Japanese and S. Korean F-35's. China may have stealth birds of their own, but this has to be un-nerving. That and the F-35B's are on US light carriers that could show up.... anywhere.

Throw in F-22's and B-2's rotating in and out of the area, and you face a most formidable force of allied aircraft. I think even with their J-20's/S-400's, it has to be concerning..

and possibly eventually maybe on contingent in the future on track optimistically someday a hundred B-21s...