Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

On September 3, Air Force Chief of Staff Choi Cha-gyu took direct control of an aerial refueling exercise on board a KF-16 of the 20th Fighter Wing. It was the first time that the chief of staff commanded the exercise in the air.

This flight was conducted to determine how well the Air Force is prepared to operate a tanker before its introduction in the field and encourage pilots of the KF-16 and supporting staff who will participate in “Red Flag Alaska” training.

In the same way that the F-15K participated last year, this year, the KF-16 will be deployed to Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, through aerial refueling.

Chief of Staff Choi had an advanced briefing with relevant pilots of the 121st Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Wing, and boarded the KF-16 after aircraft maintenance.

The squadron he led was successfully refueled from a KC-135, a tanker, taking off from Gadena Air Force Base, Okinawa.

The aerial refueling exercise requires extreme concentration and precision because fuel should be supplied while the aircraft maintain the same speed, altitude and distance according to minute movements of the tanker in a three-dimensional space.

Right after the aerial refueling exercise, the KF-16 flight entered the mission airspace and went into a tactical formation flight.

The exercise was proceeded with the scenario that two KF-16 fighters engaged in a gunfight with two virtual enemies while striking enemy positions with JDAM, an air-to-ground weapon.

As he directly controlled the high level of training that performs air-to-ground and air-to-air missions at the same time, it became an opportunity to encourage pilots as well as check out readiness for “Red Flag Alaska” training.

By Seung-Bok, Lee < yhs920@dema.mil.kr >

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