S.Korea, U.S. Stage Another Aerial Drill

South Korea and the U.S. kick off another massive air drill on Monday with about 110 aircraft and some 1,400 troops, the Air Force said Sunday.

The Korea Flying Training is a warning message to North Korea, which has been heightening tensions with an unprecedented series of missile launches.

Some 60 F-35As, F-15Ks, KF-16s, FA50s and KC-330 Cygnus multi-purpose midair refueling aircraft are participating in the drill that continues until April 28 alongside 40 F-16s, A-10s, and KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft from the U.S.

"Training focuses on improving the interoperability and quality of combined operations," the South Korea Air Force said.

The two countries will practice attack and defense formations, emergency aerial interdictions and close air support operations. 

This is already the second Korea Flying Training after the Yoon Suk-yeol administration revived joint training last year. It replaces the Max Thunder drills that were halted in 2019.