South Korea and the United States launch two-week Freedom Flag air exercise
South Korean and U.S. forces began the Freedom Flag air drills at Kunsan Air Base, focusing on counter-air and interdiction missions.
The Freedom Flag combined air drills kicked off this week at Kunsan Air Base, about 180 km southwest of Seoul, with a focus on defensive counter-air and air-interdiction tasks. South Korea’s Air Force will deploy its F-15K, KF-16 and F-35A fighters, along with KC-330 transport and E-737 Peace Eye early-warning aircraft. U.S. participants include an F-16 Fighting Falcon, an RC-135 reconnaissance plane, an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter, an F-35B stealth jet and MQ-9 Reaper drones.
Both air forces will run day-and-night mission-planning cells to share tactics and improve joint wartime procedures. The exercise is designed to boost interoperability and demonstrate South Korea’s growing ability to lead combined operations. It also evaluates the planning of South Korea-led drills as part of the broader effort to retake wartime operational control from the United States by 2030 or sooner.
Why it matters
The drills test and improve the interoperability of allied air forces and South Korea's push for greater command autonomy.
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