U.S. Air Force F-35 Stealth Fighters Practice Critical Agile Combat Employment Ops. in South Korea

The U.S. Air Force has employed F-35A fifth generation fighter aircraft in South Korea test their Agile Combat Employment capabilities in the country, after the aircraft arrived at Cheongju Air Base for the 11-day&nbsp; Freedom Shield exercises from their prior deployment at Kadena Air Base in Japan. The joint exercises launched&nbsp;from March 10 to March 21 also included U.S. Navy and Republic of Korea Air Force assets, including the two services’ own F-35s. The 7th Air Force spokesperson stated that the fighters “participated in an Agile Combat Employment, or ACE, movement to an alternate base to rehearse the unit’s ability to quickly manoeuvre forces around the region while maintaining combat flying operations.” Agile Combat Employment prepares F-35s to be able to deploy away from major airbases, which is particularly critical on the Korean Peninsula due to the lack of strategic depth which fighter operations will have, and the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/scholar-a-b-abrams-outlines-how-north-korea-could-handle-an-f-35-attack-from-hypersonic-missiles-to-mobile-sams" target="_blank">tremendous strike capabilities</a> deployed by the Korean People’s Army in the north with which the United States and South Korea remain officially in a state of war. The expected vulnerability of major airbases makes the ability to operate F-35s from alternative facilities vital to their ability to contribute to a major war effort.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/20/article_67dbef4d2f58a3_84221692.jpg" title="Korean People`s Army Barrage of KN-23 and KN-24 Tactical Ballistic Missiles" >North Korea’s ability to threaten airbases hosting American and South Korean fighters has increased exponentially in recent years. The country’s ballistic and cruise missile arsenals are considered among the most capable in the world, and have a number of <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/nkorea-launches-mach12-hypersonic-glide-hwasong16b" target="_blank">rare capabilities</a> including the ability to delivery tactical nuclear, chemical weapons and multi-ton conventional strikes. The country’s artillery and rocket artillery forces are also the largest in the world, with rocket artillery assets including some of the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/nkorea-long-range-rocket-artillery" target="_blank">longest ranged systems</a> fielded worldwide outside China, allowing for high volume low cost attacks to complement the more costly use of ballistic missiles. North Korea presents one of the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/stronger-dprk-air-defence-us-f35-rok" target="_blank">most challenging targets</a> for potential F-35 operations, as its air defence network is among the densest in the world, employs radars and missile systems that are fortified underground, and has benefitted fro integration of <a href="https://sinonk.com/2024/05/04/north-koreas-leap-forward-in-air-defence-modernisation/" target="_blank">highly sophisticated</a> new equipment such as Pyongae-6 long range anti-aircraft missile systems. Although the country’s fighter fleet is considered largely obsolete, it has invested in the development of new generations of <a href="https://www.38north.org/2022/10/air-to-air-missiles-could-be-the-north-korean-defense-sectors-next-breakthrough-why-it-matters/" target="_blank">advanced air-to-air missiles</a> domestically, and is expected to <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/nkorean-air-force-modernise-russian-mig29-su27" target="_blank">receive new fighters</a> from Russia in the near future. North Korean officials in September 2023 visited the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant and inspected a Russian Su-57 fifth generation fighter, fuelling speculation that <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/top-five-clients-russia-su57" target="_blank">procurement of the aircraft</a> may be planned. &nbsp;