South Korean F-15K Slam Eagles taxi on the runway at Osan Air Base, South Korea, March 4, 2024. (South Korean air force)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — U.S. and South Korean airmen began a five-day combat drill to sharpen the allied defense against aerial attacks Monday amid a broader exercise that kicked off in South Korea that day.
More than 20 U.S. and South Korean fighters flew counter-air drills for Ssangmae Training, or Buddy Squadron, from Osan Air Base, roughly 30 miles south of Seoul, the Ministry of National Defense said in a news release.
Aircraft used in Buddy Squadron include F-16 Fighting Falcons from Osan’s 51st Fighter Wing and F-15K Slam Eagles from South Korea’s 11th Fighter Wing, according to the release.
“We are conducting the training as ‘one team’ to immediately respond to enemy provocations,” South Korean air force F-15K pilot Maj. Park Young-do said in the release.
The annual air drill began in 1998, according to the ministry.
A South Korean F-15K Slam Eagle touches down at Osan Air Base, South Korea, March 4, 2024. (South Korean air force)
Freedom Shield, a separate 11-day joint military exercise, also kicked off Monday.
The semiannual Freedom Shield is aimed at countering North Korean threats, such as its cruise-missile launch sites, South Korean army Col. Lee Sung-jun told reporters at a news conference Wednesday.
This year’s iteration is composed of 48 drills, double the number conducted in 2023, Lee said. Neither U.S. Forces Korea nor the Ministry of National Defense disclosed how many troops are participating in the exercise, citing operational security concerns.
U.N. Command member states Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, France, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand will also be contributing troops for the exercise, according to U.S. Forces Korea.
The drills come as diplomatic relations between North and South Korea have stalled. In November, both countries withdrew from a military deconfliction agreement that had banned armed guards and aircraft patrols near the border since November 2018.
North Korea last fired a ballistic missile that flew roughly 620 miles before splashing down into the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, on Jan. 14. The communist regime also fired an unspecified number of cruise missiles over a 10-day span starting Jan. 24.
