The South Korean Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Kim Sung-il, took one of his country’s new F-15K fighters for a test ride recently. A fairly standard procedure for an Air Force leader, right? Unfortunately, the ability of the advanced F-15K to sustain aerial combat for about an hour gave the general an opportunity to make a “symbolic” flight over the Dokdo islets, reports the Chosun Ilbo. Seoul believes Dokdo is its territory, but Tokyo claims the islets for Japan. Tokyo has asked for an explanation.
The Air Force overall reduced its size by 120 aircraft in fiscal year 2021, but kept about the same number of fighter, bomber and attack aircraft, according to data supplied by the service. The F-35 fleet saw the biggest increase while the B-1B bomber fleet saw the largest decline.