South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense stated on July 5 that the F-35A stealth fighter jets from Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska were deployed to South Korea again after five years. According to reports, these six F-35A stealth fighters plan to conduct joint exercises with the South Korean Air Force before July 14. In addition, South Korea recently announced that it will spend US$3 billion to purchase 20 additional F-35A fighter jets from the United States.
What is the intention of the United States to deploy F-35A fighter jets to South Korea again? What signal does South Korea's recent series of defense actions send? On related topics of , military observer Wang Yanan will give you an in-depth analysis.
Data map: U.S. military F-35A stealth fighters (Source: Yonhap News Agency)
The U.S. military publicly deployed F-35A fighters in South Korea for the first time in 2017, and returned to the United States after the temporary deployment. Military observer Wang Yanan believes that the deployment of F-35A fighter jets to South Korea for the first time in five years shows that the United States is preparing to deal with possible conflicts in the future.
Wang Yanan:
The U.S. military’s F-35A fighter jets have been deployed to South Korea again for two main purposes: first, to strengthen the presence of U.S. military air power in the region; second, The United States hopes that this fighter jet will familiarize itself with the deployment environment in the Asia-Pacific region in advance , strengthen communication and coordination with local military agencies and governments to ensure better dispatch capabilities and sustainable combat levels, and can be quickly transformed into actual combat effectiveness when necessary.
Data map: South Korea's KF-21 "Falcon" stealth fighter prototype model (Source: Yonhap News Agency)
The South Korean Air Force recently plans to spend US$3 billion to purchase 20 more F-35A fighters. In addition, South Korea is also actively promoting its own KF-21 "Falcon" stealth fighter project. Military observer Wang Yanan analyzed that South Korea is currently eager to improve its air combat capabilities, but as a "low-end substitute" for the F-35A fighter, the combat effectiveness of the KF-21 fighter remains to be seen.
Wang Yanan:
If the KF-21 "Falcon" stealth fighter officially enters service, it will be positioned as a "low-end substitute" for the F-35A fighter. Compared with the F-35A fighter, the main advantage of the "Falcon" is its low price and the ability to realize most of the combat functions of the F-35A fighter. South Korea can use this aircraft to fill the gap in the size of its Air Force fighter aircraft.
But the problem is that in addition to South Korea's own combat missions, South Korea's existing F-35A fighters also frequently cooperate with the United States and other countries to perform joint missions. It is unknown whether the "Falcon" fighter jets have the ability to cooperate with the US military. Therefore, there are still doubts about how effective "Falcon" can be in systematic operations on future battlefields.
The President of South Korea recently participated in the NATO summit for the first time and established the Korean Representative Office to NATO in Brussels . In May this year, South Korea officially joined the Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence under NATO , becoming the first Asian country to join this organization. In this regard, military observer Wang Yanan analyzed that the Yin Xiyue government of South Korea is trying every means to get on the chariot of the United States and the West to ensure its own security, but what it will bring to South Korea will ultimately be superficial "security."
Wang Yanan:
South Korea has recently had frequent interactions with NATO countries headed by the United States, which shows that NATO, a military alliance, is constantly expanding its power in various overt or covert ways, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. On the other hand, it also shows that the current South Korean government is strategically tying itself more closely to NATO or the United States.
This clique-like approach may bring some so-called "security" to South Korea on the surface, but it will make the security situation in the entire Asia-Pacific region more unstable, which is actually not good for South Korea.
column editor: Gu Wanquan Text editor: Cheng Pei Source of title picture: Visual China Picture editor: Yong Kai
source: Author: Yangguang Military
