South Korea's Air Force is going to welcome two F-35A stealth fighter jets today..... and these jets are expected to boost the country's strategic targeting against potential enemy forces.
Kim Ji-yeon explains.
Two F-35A stealth fighter jets arrive at Cheongju Air Base Friday afternoon from Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, U.S... giving South Korea's Air Force the capability of evading radar detection.
The jets... manufactured by Lockheed Martin.... will likely be assigned to South Korea's combat units starting in April or May.
They're two of the six F-35A fighter jets South Korea has acquired from the U.S. as of last year.
The military is scheduled to have a total of ten F-35A jets ready for combat by the end of this year.
Following a 2014 contract, South Korea plans to deploy 40 F-35A jets by 2021 at a cost of around 6-point-5-billion U.S. dollars.
F-35As can fly at a top speed of Mach one-point-eight and carry top-of-the line weapons systems, such as joint direct attack munitions and small precision diameter bombs.
They're expected play a key role in South Korea's envisioned Kill Chain pre-emptive strike system... which targets nuclear and missile facilities of potential enemy forces when a threat is imminent.
The Kill Chain system is one of South Korean military's three-pronged strategy to counter mainly North Korean threats... along with the Korean Air and Missile Defense system and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation strategies.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.