US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon 'Super Squadron' in South Korea to target North Korea and China; here's what it means
"These F-16s are the first of many being temporarily reassigned to Osan AB for Phase II of the test, the temporary transfer supporting Seventh Air Force's efforts to maximize capabilities and increase combat effectiveness on the Korean Peninsula," the US Air Force stated in a press release.Also Read: Aliens coming, interstellar object 3I/ATLAS may be their ship and we have no defense; this Harvard astrophysicist is almost 100% sure'Osan is receiving additional F-16s as part of the Air Force's Super Squadron Test Part II initiative, which is a force-optimization test designed to see if a larger, consolidated squadron can generate more combat power and operate more efficiently,' said US Air Force Captain Bryce Hughes, 51st Maintenance Group Officer and Sortie Generation Flight commander, as per the same press release.Along with the approximately 31 F-16s, the US Air Force will also move 1,000 airmen from Kunsan AB to Osan AB for the start of Phase II. The reassignment of the airmen will start October 2025. US Air Force personnel stationed at the Osan AB are training with the 36th Fighter Generation Squadron (FGS) to gain experience in maintaining the F-16s and help maximize combat airpower generation.
As part of the Super Squadron Test, the US Air Force in October 2024 moved nine F-16s and 150 airmen to the 36th Fighter Squadron and FGS at Osan AB. "Phase II of the test is expected to continue through October 2026, capitalizing on data from the first phase and assessing focus areas like maintenance, manpower and logistics requirements at a larger scale,: the US Air Force stated.'We're working hand-in-hand with the Wolfpack to ensure a smooth transition of both personnel and equipment in preparation for Phase II. The 51st Fighter Wing is leading the charge on the Super Squadron Test. I'm proud of what the Mustangs have accomplished already, and I look forward to testing the limits of what we can do over the next year," said Colonel Ryan Ley, 51st Fighter Wing commander.In order to enhance its combat effectiveness in the Korean Peninsula, the US Air Force has taken several steps in the last few years. The force began replacing its older fighters with newer and more potent variants, including removal of F-15C/Ds from Kadena Air Base in Japan. The place of the phased out jets will be taken up by the new F-15EXs. To maintain its operational readiness, the force has rotated in F-15Es and F-22s in the interim period.The US has been facing an increasingly assertive China in East Asia. The Chinese defense forces have in the last couple of decades modernized and expanded rapidly. It is now actively challenging the US in many regions of the Pacific Ocean, South China Sea and near Taiwan.Also Read: China's robot army's new addition - missile-firing and flying turtle; signs of preparation for World War III?A couple of months back in June 2025, two Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy aircraft carriers carried out a joint military exercise in the Pacific, near the Japanese island of Iwo Jima. China's aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong launched Shenyang J-15 fighters during day and night, as well as carried out multiple combat maneuver. China's guided-missile destroyer Wuxi and supply ship Hulunhu were also part of the military drill.China's third and most advanced aircraft carrier, Fujian, which is undergoing sea trials, recently demonstrated its ability to launch fighters using an electromagnetic catapult, breaking one more ceiling and moving closer to the US in terms of naval technology. A six-and-a-half minute long video of the Fujian sea trial was shown on Chinese state media CCTV where several J-15T fighters were shown.China is armed with multiple nuclear tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, fifth generation stealth fighters like the Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon and Shenyang J-35 (which has two variants - one for the air force and other for the navy) and the worls's largest naval force.
Its recent advancement in space and satellite technology has given the US one more reason to worry which is now actively looking at its adversaries possessing offensive capability from beyond the earth. Kim Yo Jong, who usually issues statements on behalf of her brother Kim Jong Un, on July 29 stated that while the North Korean leader and US President Donald Trump's relationship is 'not bad', her country possesses nuclear weapons and will not give them up.
Demanding the US to accept the reality of nuclear North Korea, Kim Yo Jong called the situation in 2018 and '19 during Trump's first term as the US President vastly different for that in 2025.Also Read: A UN report on UN reports' declining readership: Surprising truth behind the world's most ignored document 'The year 2025 is neither 2018 nor 2019. The recognition of the irreversible position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state and the hard fact that its capabilities and geopolitical environment have radically changed should be a prerequisite for predicting and thinking everything in the future,' she said.Isolated and facing crippling sanctions from the US-led western powers and many other countries, North Korea has been increasingly dependent on China and Russia for its economic and military needs.Kim Jong Un has sent military supplies including troops and artillery shells to Russia to fight the Ukraine war. The move to power the Russian war machinery has come under severe criticism from the US and its allies.
Russia and North Korea recently started the first direct passenger flight between Pyongyang and Moscow in decades.
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The South Korean government on Monday (August 4) started removing loudspeakers which were placed at its border with North Korea for transmitting propaganda and information about the country. Over the years, these speakers blared everything from Michael Jackson songs and K-pop (Korean pop music) to weather reports. The Defence Ministry described it as a 'practical measure that can help ease inter-Korean tensions without affecting the military's readiness posture'. It follows another decision two months ago by the new President Lee Jae Myung, who ordered the suspension of loudspeaker broadcasts in frontline areas, according to the Korean Yonhap News Agency. It is being seen as part of a softer approach from the new administration, led by President Lee of the liberal Democratic Party. Although just a week ago, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong said the government's 'blind trust' in its alliance with the US, and hostility toward North Korea, made it no different from its conservative predecessor. Why were these rather unconventional tactics employed in the decades-old discord between the two nations, who are still technically at war? The history North and South Korea were formed after the end of World War 2 (1939-45) as the peninsula was liberated from Japanese rule. Soon, the communist Soviet Union and the liberal capitalist United States competed to extend their influence, with the onset of the Cold War. The USSR and the US took control of the northern region and the south, respectively, for what was to be a temporary arrangement. The 38th parallel (or latitude) would be the dividing line, and according to former US Secretary of State Dean Rusk (then a military officer), he and Colonel Charles 'Tic' Bonesteel did it without much thought. Rusk later wrote in his memoir, As I Saw It, 'Neither Tic nor I was a Korea expert, but it seemed to us that Seoul, the capital, should be in the American sector… Using a National Geographic map, we looked just north of Seoul for a convenient dividing line but could not find a natural geographical line. We saw instead the thirty-eighth parallel and decided to recommend that…' The subsequent war and the influence of the occupying powers made the division permanent. An armistice agreement was signed on July 27, 1953, rather than a peace treaty, leaving North and South Korea technically still at war. Today, a buffer zone called the demilitarised zone (DMZ) runs along the 38th parallel to prevent border skirmishes, with both armies guarding it. The DMZ runs for almost 250 km and is around 4 km wide. Over the decades, a range of sounds has been blasted through rows of loudspeakers on either side. South Korean officials have claimed their broadcasts can be heard upto 10 km during the day, while North Korean broadcasts have not been heard as easily. Music, patriotism and more In the book Music and Conflict, musicologist Keith Howard wrote about the sounds in the early 2000s: 'From the North, verbal abuse juxtaposed with music, revolutionary songs, and songs telling of a land of plenty. The South aired a mixture dominated by American pop of the Michael Jackson kind, reflecting that American troops supplement South Korean forces'. What was the idea behind it? In an essay, South Korean researcher Yechan Moon of Seoul's Yonsei University wrote about the 'unique intersection of media technology, sensory experience, and geopolitical strategy' ('Sound and Access to Information: The Political Implications of the Loudspeaker Broadcasts to North Korea'). 'In the case of loudspeakers, the sensory immediacy and omnipresence of sound play a critical role. Unlike print or digital media, sound cannot be easily escaped or ignored when it envelops an environment,' Moon wrote. It assumes particular significance for North Korea, often called the 'hermit kingdom' for its strict control of information and isolationist policies. 'Unlike radio receivers or foreign DVDs (which North Korean authorities can criminalize and confiscate in clandestine raids), loudspeaker broadcasts require no active agency by North Korean listeners,' Moon added. This can make them aware of the world beyond through a common language. Many defectors from the North have said that they knew about South Korean popular culture, such as films, TV shows and music, but accessing smuggled media was difficult and dangerous. Moon wrote that the medium of sound itself is potent in provoking emotional and physiological responses. Furthermore, 'North Korea's own media strategy reflects its acknowledgment of sound's power. Domestically, the regime itself employs ubiquitous loudspeaker systems — every North Korean town has public address speakers that broadcast approved news and martial music every morning — essentially a one-way internal loudspeaker propaganda network.' Shifting policy The sound has been turned on and off periodically, depending on the state of the ties and specific incidents. Last year, under the former conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration, South Korea turned on the loudspeakers for the first time in six years, as Pyongyang launched thousands of trash-carrying balloons across the border. Seoul had previously conducted the campaign after North Korea's fourth nuclear test in 2016, Yonhap News Agency said. This time around, it reportedly included K-pop group BTS's English language mega-hits 'Butter' and 'Dynamite,' weather forecasts and news, and criticism of the North's missile program and its crackdown. The North launched its own propaganda in return. After a few weeks, the Incheon Metropolitan Government said it would request the central government to devise a framework for 'compensating residents near the inter-Korean border who have been affected by disruptive noises,' The Korea Times reported. Residents said they heard high-pitched noises resembling scraping metal, sirens and drums. (With Associated Press inputs) Rishika Singh is a Senior sub-editor at the Explained Desk of The Indian Express. She enjoys writing on issues related to international relations, and in particular, likes to follow analyses of news from China. Additionally, she writes on developments related to politics and culture in India. ... Read More
Economic Times
13 hours ago
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US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon 'Super Squadron' in South Korea to target North Korea and China; here's what it means
Days after North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong asked the United States of America to accept the reality that her country is a nuclear weapons state, the American Air Force has started boosting its fighter aircraft strength in South Korea's north. The US Air Force is creating a "Super Squadron" by bringing in more than 30 F-16 Fighting Falcon first F-16 Fighting Falcons, out of the 31 combat jets likely to be reassigned, were on July 28 moved from South Korean Kunsan Air Base to the north and stationed at Osan AB, which is situated just 48 miles south of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). This redeployment of F-16s is a step towards the US Air Force's Super Squadron Test. "These F-16s are the first of many being temporarily reassigned to Osan AB for Phase II of the test, the temporary transfer supporting Seventh Air Force's efforts to maximize capabilities and increase combat effectiveness on the Korean Peninsula," the US Air Force stated in a press Read: Aliens coming, interstellar object 3I/ATLAS may be their ship and we have no defense; this Harvard astrophysicist is almost 100% sure'Osan is receiving additional F-16s as part of the Air Force's Super Squadron Test Part II initiative, which is a force-optimization test designed to see if a larger, consolidated squadron can generate more combat power and operate more efficiently,' said US Air Force Captain Bryce Hughes, 51st Maintenance Group Officer and Sortie Generation Flight commander, as per the same press with the approximately 31 F-16s, the US Air Force will also move 1,000 airmen from Kunsan AB to Osan AB for the start of Phase II. The reassignment of the airmen will start October 2025. US Air Force personnel stationed at the Osan AB are training with the 36th Fighter Generation Squadron (FGS) to gain experience in maintaining the F-16s and help maximize combat airpower generation. As part of the Super Squadron Test, the US Air Force in October 2024 moved nine F-16s and 150 airmen to the 36th Fighter Squadron and FGS at Osan AB. "Phase II of the test is expected to continue through October 2026, capitalizing on data from the first phase and assessing focus areas like maintenance, manpower and logistics requirements at a larger scale,: the US Air Force stated.'We're working hand-in-hand with the Wolfpack to ensure a smooth transition of both personnel and equipment in preparation for Phase II. The 51st Fighter Wing is leading the charge on the Super Squadron Test. I'm proud of what the Mustangs have accomplished already, and I look forward to testing the limits of what we can do over the next year," said Colonel Ryan Ley, 51st Fighter Wing order to enhance its combat effectiveness in the Korean Peninsula, the US Air Force has taken several steps in the last few years. The force began replacing its older fighters with newer and more potent variants, including removal of F-15C/Ds from Kadena Air Base in Japan. The place of the phased out jets will be taken up by the new F-15EXs. To maintain its operational readiness, the force has rotated in F-15Es and F-22s in the interim US has been facing an increasingly assertive China in East Asia. The Chinese defense forces have in the last couple of decades modernized and expanded rapidly. It is now actively challenging the US in many regions of the Pacific Ocean, South China Sea and near Read: China's robot army's new addition - missile-firing and flying turtle; signs of preparation for World War III?A couple of months back in June 2025, two Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy aircraft carriers carried out a joint military exercise in the Pacific, near the Japanese island of Iwo Jima. China's aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong launched Shenyang J-15 fighters during day and night, as well as carried out multiple combat maneuver. China's guided-missile destroyer Wuxi and supply ship Hulunhu were also part of the military third and most advanced aircraft carrier, Fujian, which is undergoing sea trials, recently demonstrated its ability to launch fighters using an electromagnetic catapult, breaking one more ceiling and moving closer to the US in terms of naval technology. A six-and-a-half minute long video of the Fujian sea trial was shown on Chinese state media CCTV where several J-15T fighters were is armed with multiple nuclear tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, fifth generation stealth fighters like the Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon and Shenyang J-35 (which has two variants - one for the air force and other for the navy) and the worls's largest naval force. Its recent advancement in space and satellite technology has given the US one more reason to worry which is now actively looking at its adversaries possessing offensive capability from beyond the earth. Kim Yo Jong, who usually issues statements on behalf of her brother Kim Jong Un, on July 29 stated that while the North Korean leader and US President Donald Trump's relationship is 'not bad', her country possesses nuclear weapons and will not give them up. Demanding the US to accept the reality of nuclear North Korea, Kim Yo Jong called the situation in 2018 and '19 during Trump's first term as the US President vastly different for that in Read: A UN report on UN reports' declining readership: Surprising truth behind the world's most ignored document 'The year 2025 is neither 2018 nor 2019. The recognition of the irreversible position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state and the hard fact that its capabilities and geopolitical environment have radically changed should be a prerequisite for predicting and thinking everything in the future,' she and facing crippling sanctions from the US-led western powers and many other countries, North Korea has been increasingly dependent on China and Russia for its economic and military Jong Un has sent military supplies including troops and artillery shells to Russia to fight the Ukraine war. The move to power the Russian war machinery has come under severe criticism from the US and its allies. Russia and North Korea recently started the first direct passenger flight between Pyongyang and Moscow in decades.
