An American B-1B Lancer strategic bomber and F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets accompanied by South Korean military aircraft have conducted simulated bombing drills in the skies over South Korea amid rising tensions on the peninsula, Yonhap News Agency says.
The maneuvers are part of the unprecedented joint air force Vigilant Ace 18 drills which kicked off Monday.
The drills staged by the US and South Korea feature hundreds of warplanes conducting mock attacks on North Korean nuclear and missile objects in different war scenarios, but are claimed to be of a “defensive nature.”
On Wednesday, the US Air Force dispatched B-1B aircraft, F-22 Raptor fighter jets, as well as several F-35 stealth jets and F-16 fighter planes to take part in joint drills at the Pilsung Firing Range in Gangwon Province, Yonhap reports, citing the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Seoul sent F-15Ks and KF-16s to join the American squadron.
The total number of warplanes taking part in the maneuvers was not revealed, and there could be more than one B-1B bomber. But Washington usually sends two B-1Bs to the area.
It is the first time the fifth-generation jets joined the Vigilant Ace exercise.
