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A state-of-art F-15K fighter jet went missing during a routine nighttime training mission in the East Sea on Wednesday night. The fate of the two pilots on the new aircraft was unknown.
The F-15K jet, which left a Daegu air base at 7:45 p.m., suddenly disappeared from the radar at around 8:20 p.m., the Air Force said. Officers fear it crashed into the sea and have dispatched HH-60 helicopters to waters off Pohang on a search and rescue mission.
The F-15K is one of only four of the next-generation fighter jets already delivered by Boeing. Korea is buying a total of 40 of the fighters from the U.S. aerospace giant by 2008 at a unit price of W100 billion (US$100 million) including maintenance.
The F-15K can reach Mach 2.5 and has a maximum combat radius without refueling of 1,800 §°. The fighter can carry over 10.4 tons of missiles and bombs including the satellite-guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions. The Defense Ministry wants to buy another 20 F-15Ks from 2009.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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