South Korea

Latest in South Korea

F-16 Fighting Falcons from Kunsan Air Base and South Korean KF-16s taxi to the runway together during Exercise Buddy Wing 14-8 at Seosan Air Base, Republic of Korea Aug. 21, 2014. The purpose of the exercise was not only to improve interoperability between U.S. Air Force and ROKAF fighter squadrons, but to practice with ROKAF KF-16 units for their first upcoming RED FLAG exercise in Alaska.
Air

South Korean F-16s Just Bombed A Town By Accident

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 6, 2025

South Korea today unveiled a new stealthy loyal wingman-type drone, the Low Observable Unmanned Wingman System, or LOWUS, which it plans to operate alongside the locally developed KF-21 Boramae next-generation fighter, among others.
Air

South Korea’s Loyal Wingman Air Combat Drone Unveiled

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Feb 25, 2025

South Korea's domestically developed Marine Attack Helicopter (MAH) completed its first flight test in December 2024, the country's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on January 15, 2025.
Air

This Is South Korea’s New Heavily Armed Marine Attack Helicopter

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jan 23, 2025

The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) recently commissioned the first of its new KDX-III Batch 2 destroyers, also known as the Sejong Daewang class. Among the many advanced features incorporated in these warships, especially striking is the latest version of the Korean Vertical Launch System — KVLS-II — which is initially planned to hold surface-to-air missiles, but which could well also add land attack cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.
News & Features

South Korea’s New Destroyer Is Designed To Fire Ballistic Missiles

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Dec 3, 2024

South Korean military forces have descended on the country's parliament building and other parts of the capital Seoul following President Yoon Suk Yeol's unexpected declaration of martial law.
News & Features

Surprise Martial Law Declaration Throws South Korea Into Turmoil (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Dec 3, 2024

ideos purporting to show a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian oil refinery may actually have been of a wayward civilian An-2 biplane.
Air

An-2 Biplane Caused Major Scare When Russians Thought It Was A Long-Range Kamikaze Drone

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Nov 27, 2024

The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) Gray Eagle STOL drone has undertaken its first experimental operations from a warship, taking off from the deck of the South Korean amphibious assault ship Dokdo. Gray Eagle STOL — which we have discussed in depth in the past — incorporates technology first demonstrated on the company’s Mojave, which was specifically developed with the ability to perform short takeoffs and landings, including from rough fields, with minimal support. The latest development adds to the aviation-capable warships that the wider family of Q-1 lineage drones have now operated from.
Air

Gray Eagle STOL Drone Flies From South Korean Amphibious Assault Ship

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Nov 13, 2024

North Korea has tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that it claims is its longest-ranged so far. The announcement of the test of the Hwasong-19 comes amid large-scale U.S.-South Korean military maneuvers during which their aircraft have bombed mock-ups of North Korean ballistic missile launchers.
Around The Globe

North Korea’s New ICBM May Have Biggest Transporter-Erector-Launcher We’ve Ever Seen

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Nov 1, 2024

South Korea may send advisors and weapons to Ukraine in response to North Korea's troop deployment to Russia.
Around The Globe

South Korea Could Send Advisors, Weapons To Ukraine Over North Korean Troop Movements

By Howard Altman

Updated on Oct 22, 2024

North Korea accused South Korea on Friday of sending drones to scatter a "huge number" of anti-North leaflets over its capital Pyongyang, in what it called a political and military provocation that could lead to armed conflict.
Air

Drones Penetrate North Korean Air Defenses To Drop Propaganda Leaflets On Pyongyang

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Oct 11, 2024

North Korea says it has successfully tested a ballistic missile fitted with a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) payload — one that contains several warheads, each capable of hitting a different target. Meanwhile, South Korea claims that the test was a failure. Whether successful or not, the emergence of MIRV technologies is another indicator of North Korea’s rapidly developing strategic arsenal, which is growing in size and capabilities despite sanctions.
News & Features

Conflicting Claims Surround North Korea’s Test Of Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jun 27, 2024

A South Korean K1E1 tank participates in a joint river-crossing exercise in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi province on March 20, 2024. Russian’s President Putin has warned South Korea that it would be making “a big mistake” if it decided to supply weapons to Ukraine. While Seoul has so far condemned Moscow for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and provided Kyiv with economic and humanitarian, it has stopped short of sending arms.
News & Features

South Korean Arms For Ukraine Would Be A Huge Deal And Putin Knows It

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jun 20, 2024

South Korea, one of only four nations that still operated the classic F-4 Phantom, formally retired the Cold War-era fighter today. The decommissioning ceremony saw the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) provide an “honorable discharge” for its last Phantoms, which had helped defend the nation for 55 years. The event also saw the air force looking to the future, with involvement from the F-4’s successors, including the F-35A stealth fighter. Ultimately, the Phantom will also be superseded by the locally developed KF-21.
Air

F-4 Phantom Vanishes Into Retirement After 55 Years Of South Korean Service

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Jun 7, 2024

South Korea will resume military drills near the border in the wake of Kim Jong-un's poop balloon incursion.
News & Features

South Korea To End Long Pause In Drills Near DMZ After Poop Balloon Incursions

By Howard Altman

Posted on Jun 4, 2024

North Korea sent hundreds of balloons, many filled with manure, into South Korea.
Air

Poop-Filled North Korean Balloons Descend On The South Stoking Fears Of Deadlier Payloads

By Howard Altman

Posted on May 29, 2024

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), which won the contract to build the U.S. Air Force’s highly specialized Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) aircraft last month, has acquired five Boeing 747-8s from Korean Air. The likelihood is that these will be converted as the successors to the Air Force’s aging 747-200-based E-4B Nightwatch ‘doomsday planes,’ although at this stage we still don’t know how many of the new SAOC aircraft will be fielded.
Air

Former Korean Air 747s Slated To Become USAF Doomsday Planes (Updated)

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on May 9, 2024