Dignified Tribute to Fallen Heroes is Heart Wrenching to Watch.

Aviation journalist and expert Ian D’Costa shared a video on Monday we had to pass on. This Korean news video, originally published on bemil.chosun.com, loosely translated from Korean as “Military News”, is a dignified and heart-wrenching tribute to South Korea’s repatriated fallen soldiers from the Korean Conflict.

On Monday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in cancelled the traditional South Korean military anniversary parade in favor of holding a ceremony for the arrival of remains of South Korean soldiers killed during the Korean conflict. The remains were repatriated earlier this year from North Korea, flown to Hawaii’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency for DNA identification and, once verified as South Korean servicemen, scheduled to return to South Korea for formal military burial.

D’Costa managed to find the Korean in-flight newsreel video of a Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) F-15K Slam Eagle of the 11th Fighter Wing from Daegu, South Korea joining other aircraft including FA-50 Fighting Eagles of the 8th Fighter Wing at Wonju, South Korea as they escort the remains flight in a ROKAF C-130H transport.

The newsreel video published on bemil.chosun.com shows an F-15K Slam Eagle crew fly right wing formation alongside the remains flight C-130H and, with perfect military precision, render a final in-flight salute before dropping back to fly wedge formation while escorting the aircraft. It’s a heart-wrenching moment to see.

The video goes on to show the precise and reverent loading of the remains onboard the C-130K flight in Hawaii for return to South Korea. The remains repatriation flight was escorted by two ROKAF F-15K Slam Eagles and two FA-50 Fighting Eagles.

The dignified gestures attendant the handling of military remains is an important ritual in observing the personal loss to families of fallen servicemen. In this case, the rituals are also a historic part of the slow healing process between the two fractured Koreas.

According to several sources including CNN, South Korea suffered 217,000 military and a staggering “1,000,000” civilian casualties during the entire Korean Conflict which began on June 25th, 1950 and continued to varying degrees until April 27, 2018 when talks between North and South Korea brokered by the United States brought an end to the conflict. According to reports, 7,704 U.S. servicemen remain unaccounted for following the end of the Korean Conflict.

Thanks to Ian D’Costa of The Tactical Air Network, Sightline Media Group and We Are The Mighty for letting us know about this story.

Top image: screenshot from video published at bemil.chosun.com

That’s a live firing exercise!

The following video was filmed in mid August 2015, at Seungjin Training Field, South Korea, during 2015 Integrated Live Fire Exercise.

It shows, among the others, ROKAF (Republic Of Korea Air Force) F-15Ks and KF-16s, dropping bombs on the range, ROKA AH-64, MD500 and KUH-1 helicopters, MRLS as well as some U.S. Air Force A-10s using its GAU-8 Avenger 30 mm hydraulically driven seven-barrel Gatling-type.

The drills were also supported by a South Korean Boeing 737 AEW&C Peace Eye that can be seen at the beginning of the video releasing flares.

The interesting footage shows an air power demo (to flex muscles against North Korea and China) rather than actual firing training: needless to say, no combat plane would ever use purple or yellow smoke during a real combat sortie.

Many thanks to @andiegewehre for the heads-up

 

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According to the Arirang News website, a South Korean F-15K fighter jet “equipped with air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles” was launched on Friday, Sept. 21, after six North Korean fishing vessels crossed the Northern Limit Line in the the Yellow Sea.

The North Korean boats were spotted by South Korean patrol ships that fired warning shots to force them back while the F-15K on standby alert was launched to provide air support.

Although North Korean vessels have crossed the border five times this month, it was the first time in two years that Seoul has used military power to repel North Korean fishing boats near the maritime border in the Yellow Sea, that alongside the airspace near the DMZ, has been  the scene of several naval skirmishes between the two Koreas.

In March, 2010, a South Korean warship in the area was torpedoed, with the death of 46 sailors.

The Republic of Korea Air Force F-15Ks were scrambled in June when North Korean Migs flew close to the South Korea’s airspace. They took part to the Red Flag 12-2 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, in February 2012.

Image credit: Tony Lovelock

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• Insane flybys and crazy urban dogfights between F-15 and Mig-29 fighter jets: the South Korea’s version of “Top Gun” (theaviationist.com)

Released on Aug. 15, “Retun to base” (R2B) is a brand new action movie about combat planes and fighter pilots.

The movie (a remake of 1964 title “Red Scarf”) is a sort-of Sotuh Korean version of “Top Gun” featuring T-50 planes of the Black Eagles (the Republic of Korea Airforce Aerobatic Team) and F-15Ks involved in crazy dogfights among the skyscrapers (and below brodges) against enemy North Korean Mig-29s.

Here you can find the plot (and more info about R2B):

Tae-Hoon (Rain) is the youngest member of the elite flight team “Black Eagles,” which consists of Korea’s top combat pilots. Tae-Hoon is gifted pilot, but he is also a troublemaker, filled with curiosity and playfulness. One day, when the team puts on an exhibition at an air show, he ruins the exhibition. Afterwards, Tae-Hoon is kicked out of the “Black Eagles” and transferred to the 21 combat flight unit, which is led by Dae-Seo. Tae-Hoon begins to rely on Dae-Seo like a real older brother. Meanwhile, Tae-Hoon finds himself at odds with Cheol-Hee, who is rigid, and thought of as the best pilot in the 21 combat flight unit. Tae-Hoon prepares to take on Cheol-Hee in a flight contest. Tae-Hoon asks head of maintenance Se-Young (Shin Se-Kyung) for help. Then, up in the sky in Yeouido, an unidentified fighter plane appears, and Tae-Hoon, Dae-Seo, Yoo-Jin and Seok-Hyun must make a sortie…..

And here’s the trailer:

Although Pyongyang will not be much impressed by the movie (this kind of Elephant Walk works better for that) I’m pretty sure many spectators will be amazed (and maybe amused) by some (computer generated) daredevil maneuvers.

H/T to Ugo Crisponi at Aviationgraphic.com for the heads-up

It took about 24 hours but eventually details about the (almost) close encounter close to the border between North and South Korea emerged.

The news that some North Korean fighters had violated the DMZ spread on Jun. 5 but it wasn’t until the following day that a more detailed account of what had actually happened appeared on The Korea Times.

According to the article by Kim Young-jin, one North Korean jet approached the Tactical Action Line, a conceptual line designed at 20 to 50 km north of the border, used by South Korea as a “danger zone” to prepare for a quick reaction to a clear infiltration by Pyongyang’s combat planes.

As the Korean People’s Army Air Force plane approached the TAC, four ROKAF fighters, were scrambled. However this is not the first time a North Korean plane sparked a reaction by Seoul’s fighters: previously eight fighters, reportedly F-15Ks (even if F-16s are more likely involved in Quick Reaction Alert duties), were scrambled to intercept a “zombie” (as the intruders are dubbed in the interceptors’ slang) flying within 24 km from Ganghwa Island.

North Korean exercises involving fighter jets have significantly increased in recent weeks. Up to 50 daily sorties have been recorded since mid-May, according to a source of The Korea Times.

Such increased activity could be just one of the attempts made by the North to boost Kim Jong-un’s military credential after the recent long-range rocket launch failure.

Image credit: Tony Lovelock