Korea:As War Becomes More Likely,Large Airpower Drill Gains Importance - plus which other nations are committed to help defend South Korea

In a swirl of rhetorical skirmishing between the US and North Korea,US-South Korea Airpower Exercise Vigilant Ace 18-1 began on 4 December 2017 and concludes on 8 December.About 12,000 US personnel and Republic of Korea Airmen are taking part in a realistic air combat drill with 230 aircraft stationed at eight bases,US Pacific Air Forces said.There will be a decided emphasis on US fifth generation fighters,with 12 US Marine Corps F-35B and six US Air Force F-35A aircraft joined by US Air Force F-22 Raptors.In addition,the stalwart F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-15 Eagle will assist;as well as US Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet/Super Hornet fighters;US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack jets;E/A-18 Growler electronic attack jets;B-1B Lancer bombers;C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft;and ROK F-15K Slam Eagle and F-4 Phantom II fighters as well.*
According to a release from 51st Fighter Wing Commander Colonel William Betts,Osan Air Base,ROK:
My biggest expectation for the Wing is to remove any 'exercise' mindset from the equation and maximize the realism of every response.We will ensure we have no regrets if we find ourselves executing contingency operations.
In the event we need to help defend our 5.1 million Korean allies,I need to be sure the 51st Fighter Wing is synchronized with the Combined Joint-Force.Vigilant Ace is a chance for us to do just that;focus on getting smarter,faster and more capable than we were yesterday while we generate combat airpower and strengthen the alliance.*
Korean locations involved in the drills are:Kunsan,Osan,Jungwan,Gwangju,Wonju,Daegu,Seosan and Cheongju.At these bases,the USAF,US Marine Corps and US Navy will be testing their warfighting skills with the ROK Air Force,focused on the full-spectrum deterrence of,or,if necessary,actual defeating of,the rapidly evolving threats from the North.Units from across US Pacific Command are embedding at these bases to augment their combat forces and ensure VA 18-1 is as true to life as possible,enhancing operational and tactical level coordination,while integrating and practicing combat operations against realistic air and ground threats.The drills will ensure the capability to deter aggression,preserve the armistice,defend the ROK and defeat any attack against the alliance.
North Korea calls VA 18-1:
a ceaseless large-scale war game,creating a situation that a nuclear war could break out at any moment.*
To the mind of US National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster,the risk of war from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un:
I think it's increasing every day,which means we are in a race to be able to solve this problem.Every time he conducts a missile launch,a nuclear test,he gets better.He's getting closer and closer,and there's not much time left.*
In the event of war,besides the US and ROK,15 other nations committed to help defend the ROK when the 1953 armistice was signed.Several of them sent contingents to annual wargames on the Korean Peninsula in 2017,including:
Australia,Canada,Columbia,Denmark,France,New Zealand,the Netherlands and the UK.The USAF 7th Air Force says:
This effort will require coordinated and integrated Airpower in a congested and contested battlespace.

Prepared for National Emergency,US Stages Series of Pointed Warnings To North Korea

Beginning in January,the US has been staging a series of warnings to North Korea and other potential nuclear adversaries following North Korea's recent underground nuclear weapon detonation and long-range missile test flight-supposedly to launch a satellite,but believed by the US to have been an intercontinental ballistic missile test.In January,a US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress heavy bomber was flown on a deterrence mission over South Korea,escorted by 2 fighter jets.The B-52 can deliver a substantial number of nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and other precision strike nuclear and conventional payloads.*
This was followed on 17 February by a flight of 4 US Air Force F-22 Raptor advanced technology fighter jets that had been launched from Japan over South Korea,escorted by 4 South Korean F-15K Slam Eagles and 4 US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons.The aircraft landed at Osan Air Base near Seoul,South Korea,where there was a red carpet ceremony of unity between the US and South Korean Airmen.*
In February,there were 2 Minuteman III ICBM test launches in one week from Vandenberg Air Force Base,California.US Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen from the 91st Missile Wing,Minot Air Force Base,North Dakota and the 625th Strategic Operations Squadron,Offutt Air Force Base,Nebraska,launched an unarmed LGM-30G Minuteman III ICBM with a test re-entry vehicle from Vandenberg.Most significantly,the launch was controlled from a US Strategic Command Boeing E-4B Nightwatch flying command post,a designated national emergency aircraft.The missile flew about 4200 miles to Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
The flight test program demonstrates one part of the operational capability of the ICBM weapon system,said 576th FLTS commander Colonel Craig Ramsey.But perhaps most importantly,this visible message of national security serves to assure our partners and dissuade potential aggressors,COL Ramsey added.*
On 25 February,a second unarmed Minuteman was launched from Vandenberg by the more conventional ground control method.*
On 7 March,around 17,000 US troops and more than 300,000 South Korean forces began their annual spring exercise to practice defending against a North Korean attack.The drills will last through April and have been described as the largest ever in the series.*
North Korea is known to be developing the KN08 mobile ICBM that will threaten the entire US,and to already have one of them that is operational.*
Boeing (BA)