F-35B stealth fighter to join S. Korea-U.S. joint drill: sources
SEOUL, March 2 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. Air Force's F-35B stealth fighter will take part in the ongoing Foal Eagle joint exercise with South Korea to hone its precision strike capabilities, military officials familiar with the matter said Thursday.
The F-35B Lightening II fighter is expected to carry out ground attack maneuvers during the two-month-long exercise between Seoul and Washington, the officials told Yonhap News Agency asking not to be identified.
"The addition of the F-35B is meant to deliver a strong message to the North that they could be used against the rogue state in case of a conflict breaking out on the Korean Peninsula," an official said.
The first F-35B squadron was deployed to Iwakuni, Japan, in January amid growing nuclear and missile threats posed by North Korea.
The F-35B -- which is capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings -- is regarded by the military as a strategic asset that can be employed to hit well defended key targets in North Korea.
The stealth fighter can reach speeds of up to Mach 1.6 and has a radar system that is capable of detecting a target up to 500 kilometers away.
kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
(END)
-
(Movie Review) 'Troll Factory' navigates blurred line between fake, real with anticlimactic finale
-
Police officer admits to leaking investigation report into late actor Lee Sun-kyun
-
'Parasyte: The Grey' adapts Japanese alien invasion manga to Korean setting
-
S. Korea, U.S. launch task force to block N. Korea's nuclear, missile programs
-
N. Korean leader sends condolences to Putin over Russian concert hall shooting
-
(Movie Review) 'Troll Factory' navigates blurred line between fake, real with anticlimactic finale
-
'Parasyte: The Grey' adapts Japanese alien invasion manga to Korean setting
-
Police officer admits to leaking investigation report into late actor Lee Sun-kyun
-
Congenital diseases of children born from mothers working at Samsung recognized as industrial accidents
-
N. Korean leader sends condolences to Putin over Russian concert hall shooting
-
S. Korea, U.S. launch task force to block N. Korea's nuclear, missile programs
-
Unification minister slams N. Korea's abduction, detention of S. Koreans as inhumane
-
(LEAD) S. Korea, U.S. launch task force to block N. Korea's nuclear, missile programs
-
Major hospitals in emergency mode amid huge losses over doctors' walkout
-
Seoul bus drivers go on general strike