SOUTH KOREA – The U.S Military sent four F-22 Raptors to the Osan Air Base, a day after South Korean President Park Geun-hye said that North Korea would speed up its collapse if the Kim Jong-un regime does not stop its nuclear and missile programs. U.S. Air Force officials said that this mission demonstrates the strength of the alliance between the U.S. and South Korea.
The F-22 raptor is described as the best air dominance fighter in the world, since they are capable of flying without being detected, according to its official website. The warplanes were stationed at the Osan Air Base, an U.S. Air Force base located in the county of Pyeongtaek, they can reach the Korean Peninsula in about two hours.
“The F-22 Raptor is the most capable air superiority fighter in the world, and it represents one of many capabilities available for the defense of this great nation,” Lt. Gen. Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy, the deputy commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, said in a statement, according to the South Korean journal Korea Joongang Daily.
The same journal said that when former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was alive, he ordered the detention of nuclear activities, when the same high-tech warplanes were deployed in South Korea. According to an official from South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense, the F-22s were brought to the country to demonstrate South Korea’s force and to warn North Korea.
Military abilities
In the last months, South Korea and the U.S. have been demonstrating their military abilities. In January North Korea made its fourth nuclear test, moreover, the country launched a long-range missile on early February. As a response, the U.S. sent a nuclear-capable b-52 bomber to South Korea and it will be planning new military exercises in the next months, wrote Joongang Daily.
In March, a large military drill will be carried out by South Korea and the U.S. While both countries have said that the events will be defensive in nature, the Pyongyang administration has referred to them as a rehearsal for an invasion. According to a South Korean military official who talked to the JoongAng Ilbo on Tuesday, new plans were made for the military drill, in order to “deter additional provocations by the North, since January.
Source: Joongang Daily.