F-15Ks to Participate in Red Flag Exercise
Six F-15K fighters will participate in a large-scale aerial combat
training exercise hosted by the U.S. Air Force next year, the Air
Force said Tuesday.
The Red Flag exercise is to take place at Nellis Air Force Base,
Nevada, Aug. 9-Sept. 23, an Air Force spokesman said.
``A group of 80 Air Force personnel will be dispatched to the
United States to participate in the massive aerial exercise with
allied forces,'' Lt. Col. Moon Chae-wook said. ``It will be a good
opportunity to fly and evaluate the performances of our country's
new combat aircraft.''
The exercises, which began in 1975 and conducted in four-to-six
cycles a year by the 414th Combat Training Squadron of the 57th
Wing, aims to train pilots from the U.S. Air Force, the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other allied countries for
real combat situations.
The training includes the use of ``enemy'' hardware and live
ammunition for bombing exercises.
South Korea took part in the multinational exercises from 1979 to
1992 using F-16 Fighting Falcons and has dispatched a small group
of personnel to observe the exercises since then, said Moon.
In 2002, Boeing's F-15K Eagle was selected for the 40-plane, $4.2
billion first phase of the country's fighter procurement project,
dubbed ``F-X.'' Deliveries are to be completed by the end of next
year. So far, 27 F-15Ks have been handed over to the Air
Force.
The F-15K is capable of air-to-ground, air-to-air and air-to-sea
missions day or night, under any weather conditions. It has a
23,000-pound payload and can fly at a maximum speed of Mach 2.3,
with a combat radius of 1,800 kilometers. A single aircraft costs
$100 million.
Boeing is in price negotiations with South Korea's Defense
Acquisition Program Administration over the $2.4 billion, 20-plane
second phase fighter procurement.
The F-X program aims to acquire 120 fighters by 2020 to replace
aging F-4s and F-5s. The third phase for stealth fighters is to
start in 2011, according to the Air Force.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2007/10/205_12797.html
