F-22A Raptors have shown up at in South Korea, . The deployment of a quartet of the stealthy super-fighters comes as tensions continue to rise on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of the North’s most recent rocket test.
The video below shows the F-22's arrival at Osan Air Base:
The F-22s’ arrival in South Korea is clearly in . It also comes
Just as expected, North Korea executed another long-range rocket launch on Saturday morning. The…
Kim’s region-destabilizing acts are resulting in what would have been thought of as nearly impossible a decade ago as . China may following their most recent rocket test launch. On the other hand, China’s move away from its dependent neighbor could be an alarming sign that even it has lost control of a Kim Jong Un ruled North Korea.
The F-22s were escorted by one section of US F-16C/Ds and one section of Republic of South Korea Air Force F-15K Slam Eagles as they made their way to Osan Air Base. of jets following North Korea’s recent nuclear test. This mission was a similar show of force, although the B-52 continued on its way back to its temporary base at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, whereas the F-22s landed at Osan and will likely fly missions out of there for the foreseeable future.
Tensions are cranking up on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea executed its fourth nuclear test
The Raptors that arrived atare almost certainly a detachment from a . This deployment, which began close to three weeks ago, involved the 525th Fighter Squadron based in Alaska. Smaller detachments of F-22s that can be rapidly deployed around the globe is .
In the recent past, we have seen even these tiny deployments of F-22s split up to conduct training and show of force missions—namely, this happened late .
The 8th Fighter Wing “Wolf Pack” based at Kunsan Air Base in South Korea put on a rare early…
Following North Korea’s long-range missile launch, the . This move is viewed by China as a threat to the balance of power in the region. Still, these protests will likely go unmitigated considering the high-level of unpredictability North Korea continues to convey—at least, unless China can get a major concession out of the North or at least some sort of guarantee that things will become more stable in the near future.
In the meantime, the F-22s’ presence just south of Seoul will not go unnoticed by the paranoid North Korean military apparatus. Whether that will settle things down or provoke them further remains to be seen.
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Photos via Author/Foxtrot Alpha