Air Force Chief Tests F-15K in Skies Over Dokdo (South Korea)

Posted on: Jan. 2nd, 2006 || Source: english.chosun.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

Air Force Chief Tests F-15K in Skies Over Dokdo (South Korea)

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Sung-il was in the pilot's seat of one of Korea’s new F-15K fighter jets on Monday afternoon in a symbolic sortie high over Dokdo, the islets in the East Sea that have come to galvanize patriotic sentiment. Gen. Kim took off from a base in Daegu, around 4 p.m. with a squad of two F-15Ks and two KF-16., the first Air Force commander to lead a flight over the islets. Circling for several minutes, Kim maintained communication with the Ulleungdo control unit and the Master Control and Report Center and checked on preparedness.

The F-15Ks, which started arriving in pairs last October, acquitted themselves well in the operation. In an emergency, the aircraft with a top speed of Mach 2.5 could reach Dokdo from base in eight minutes, and while the current core Air Force fighter jet, the KF-16, would be capable of little more than five minutes of air battle if it flew from the central region, the F-15K can carry out fighting operations for up to an hour after taking off from the Daegu base.

The aim of the exercise was to encourage pilots and mark the New Year as well as check the F-15K in operation. Air Force officials said the flight was symbolic of the Air Force’s determination to defend Dokdo. The islets attract an annual trickle of quasi-official territorial claims from Japan.

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