S. Korean Air Force decides to cancel public event celebrating F-35A fighter acquisition

South Korean President Moon Jae-in inspects military assets including the F-35A at Taegu Air Base on Oct. 1, South Korea’s Armed Forces Day.

Move seen as desire not to provoke N. Korea

South Korean President Moon Jae-in inspects military assets including the F-35A at Taegu Air Base on Oct. 1, South Korea’s Armed Forces Day.

The South Korean Air Force has decided not to publicize an event celebrating the official deployment of its new F-35A stealth fighters at a base in Cheongju on Dec. 17. While this decision reflects the strict security required for these strategic assets, it also suggests a desire not to provoke North Korea, which has vocally opposed South Korea’s acquisition of the F-35A fighters.

“All the F-35A fighters that were supposed to be acquired this year have reached the country. Now that we’ve acquired the baseline operational capability, we’ve decided to hold the deployment ceremony at the Cheongju air base on Dec. 17, with the ROK Air Force chief of staff presiding,” an official with the Republic of Korea Air Force said on Dec 13.

“The event will be conducted as an internal military affair, with the goal of crediting the service members who contributed to [the planes’] successful deployment,” this official added.

The Air Force reportedly decided that, since F-35A fighters have already been shown to the public at various events, including a ceremony commemorating South Korea’s 71st Armed Forces Day on Oct. 1, they don’t need to be displayed again.

“The F-35A fighters have already been made available to the public at the Armed Forces Day event and at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition. Considering that the F-35A is a strategic asset that requires the strictest security, we will not be showing them publicly anymore, except under special circumstances,” the official said.

There are also indications that the South Korean government hopes to avoid stirring up North Korea ― which has been irritated by South Korea’s acquisition of the F-35A fighters― by refraining from putting them on public display. When F-35A fighters flew during the Armed Forces Day event, North Korea’s state-run KCNA criticized the South Korean military for “showing off” and described the air show as a “overt threat and deliberate provocation” against the North.

Since South Korea received its first two F-35A fighters at the end of March, a total of 13 fighters have reportedly arrived in the country. Equipped with stealth functionality and electronic warfare capabilities, the fighters have a maximum speed of Mach 1.6 and a cruising range of 2,222km. They can be loaded with up to 30,822kg of ordnance, including AIM-9X air-to-air missiles and GBU-12 air-to-surface precision guided bombs.

Furthermore, South Korea’s air force doesn’t plan to display its Global Hawk high-altitude unmanned surveillance aircraft, which is slated to be delivered this month. Carrying radar and infrared equipment that can enable it to pinpoint objects 300cm across from an altitude of 20km, the Global Hawk is a drone with the capabilities of a spy satellite. After taking off, the drone can remain aloft for up to 30 hours. It flies at a speed of 629kph and has a cruising range of 22,779km.

By Yoo Kang-moon, senior staff writer

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