Kim Minseok covers South Korean defense. He has worked as a journalist for South Korean military magazines Military Review and Defense Times. Mr Kim is also a research fellow at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, a think tank.
The South Korean Air Force is preparing to purchase 60 additional fighters to replace older aircraft five years sooner than planned. The service operates about 100 F-4s and F-5s. It plans to operate the F-4s until 2024 and the F-5s until 2031, which would keep the older aircraft in use for more than 40 years.
The South Korean Ministry of National Defense said tests verified the large solid-fuel engine, fairing separation, stage separation and upper-stage attitude control technology.
