Red Flag training exercise 08-04 kicked off yesterday at Nellis AFB, Nev., and will run through Aug. 22. This iteration of the nation’s premier annual air combat training event includes the first participation of the Indian and South Korean air forces. The Indians brought their SU-30MKI multirole fighters, while the South Koreans have flown in their new F-15Ks. French Rafale fighters are also participating, along with USAF C-17s, E-3 AWACS, EC-130s, F-15s, F-16s, and KC-135s. Navy EA-6Bs are also included as are French C-130s and Indian IL-76/78 tankers.
No sooner had the Defense Intelligence Agency issued its North Korean Military Power report, in which it predicted Pyongyang would resume ballistic missile tests, than North Korea did exactly that, lofting a submarine-launched ballistic missile Oct. 19. The test, in which an SLBM launched from the port of Sinpo into…