U.S. F-22 Raptors perform “show of force” in South Korea against North

February 17, 2016 North Korea, Troubled Areas
David Cenciotti
Four U.S. Air Force F-22 "Raptor" fighter aircraft from Kadena Air Base, Japan, conducted a flyover in the vicinity of Osan Air Base, South Korea, in response to recent provocative action by North Korea, Feb. 17, 2016. The Raptors were joined by four F-15 Slam Eagles and U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons. The F-22 is designed to project air dominance rapidly and at great distances and currently cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kristin High/Released)

Four Raptors have deployed to South Korea.

On Feb. 17, four U.S. Air Force F-22 “Raptor” fighter aircraft from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan, deployed to Osan Air Base, in South Korea.

The multi-role stealth fighters were joined by four Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) F-15 Slam Eagles and U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons to perform a “show of force” flyover in the vicinity of the base, in response to recent provocative actions by North Korea: the crisis in the Peninsula deepened this month after Pyongyang, ignoring several international warnings fired a long-range rocket carrying satellite into the space in what world powers consider a prohibited missile test.

Four U.S. Air Force F-22 "Raptor" fighter aircraft from Kadena Air Base, Japan, conducted a flyover in the vicinity of Osan Air Base, South Korea, in response to recent provocative action by North Korea Feb. 17, 2016. The Raptors were joined by four F-15 Slam Eagles and U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons. The F-22 is designed to project air dominance rapidly and at great distances and currently cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Song, Kyong Hwan/Released)

On Jan. 10, 2016 in response to the a previous North Korean nuclear test, a U.S. Air Force B-52 from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, performed a low-level flight over Osan Air Base, South Korea escorted by South Korean F-15K Slam Eagle and a U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcon.

The F-22 is designed to quickly project air dominance and at great distances (as proved by the 2015 deployment in Europe) and can perform a wide variety of missions: for instance, thanks to its advanced sensors they provide “kinetic situational awareness” to other assets in Syria.

Image credit: U.S. Air Force

 

Related articles
About David Cenciotti
WebsiteFacebookTwitterLinkedIn instagram
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

Related Articles

8 Comments

  2. If those were a squadron of F15Es, the North Koreans might think otherwise. F22s have little or no ground attack capability. What will they do? Strafe Kim Jong-un’s bunker? If the U.S. wants to make an impression fly a B1 down Pyongyang’s main drag and blow the glass out of all the windows.
    In which case, the F22s would be useful as top cover.

    • Hey that 60yo soviet tech that NK has must be able to compete with the trillions we have spent since, right?

Comments are closed.