CaliToday (05/11/2025): In a swift and muscular response to North Korea's latest provocation, the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) launched a large-scale joint air exercise today, just hours after Pyongyang fired a volley of missiles this morning.
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| US Air Force B-1B bombers, center, fly in formation with South Korea’s fighter jets |
The exercise was an immediate and unambiguous "show of deterrent force," designed to send a powerful message of allied unity and overwhelming air superiority directly to the Kim regime.
A "Fifth-Generation" Response
The skies over the Korean Peninsula saw a formidable display of the allies' most advanced airpower. The exercise was spearheaded by:
U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors: Considered the world's most dominant air-to-air combat fighter.
ROK Air Force (ROKAF) F-35A Lightning IIs: Elite multi-role stealth fighters known for their advanced sensors and precision strike capabilities.
The combination of these two fifth-generation stealth aircraft is strategically critical. The F-22 is designed to establish "air dominance" clearing the skies of any threat while the F-35 acts as a "quarterback," using its advanced network capabilities to identify and prosecute targets on the ground.
An Ironclad Message of Deterrence
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| The US conducted separate joint exercises Sunday with Japanese and South Korean planes |
Military officials from the ROK-US Combined Forces Command (CFC) stated that the exercise was not pre-scheduled but was a direct and immediate reaction to North Korea's destabilizing missile launch earlier in the day.
The drill focused on rehearsing seamless joint operations and precision strike capabilities, simulating the neutralization of enemy threats. By scrambling these high-value assets within hours of the provocation, Washington and Seoul demonstrated two key points:
Readiness: That their forces are not just present, but are in a high state of readiness, able to "fight tonight."
Integration: That U.S. and ROK air forces can operate as a single, lethal unit at a moment's notice.
A CFC spokesperson emphasized that the drill "reaffirms the ironclad U.S. commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea" and demonstrates the "overwhelming power" available to the alliance to counter any aggression.