S. Korea celebrates 71st Armed Forces Day, showcases F-35A jets to public for first time
Arirang News
2019-10-01
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This year's ceremony was starkly different compard to last year... and the message portrayed at the event comes at a time when the country needed reassurances about its defense capabilities.
Kim Ji-yeon has the highlights of this year's Armed Forces Day national event.
A ceremony marking South Korea's 71st Armed Forces Day on Tuesday was a chance to show the public the readiness and capabilities of the nation's strong armed forces... in a time of geopolitical and security uncertainties.
This is in comparison to last year which was marked by a series of inter-Korean summits.
For Tuesday's event, President Moon Jae-in arrived in a Surion, one of the country's homegrown helicopters... seen as part of efforts to demonstrate the greatness of the vehicle.
This year's ceremony also stood out from previous years is that it took place at an air force base in Daegu... where fighter jets can be scrambled to reach anywhere on the Korean peninsula in less than 30 minutes and operate missions for more than three hours at a time.
As to demonstrate its might... four F15-K fighter jets took off on missions during the ceremony to cardinal points of south, east and west including the easternmost island of Dokdo... and reported their findings to the public.
Flags of 22 countries that participated in the Korean War embellished the sky... to the awe of an estimated 23-hundred spectators.
On the ground, state-of-the-arts weapons were presented... including unmanned aerial vehicles, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles, the M-SAM missile defense system, Hyunmoo-2 short-range ballistic missiles..., and the Army Tactical Missile System.
"South Korea's Army, Navy and Air Force displayed their assets including ATACMS."
The military also showcased its new F-35A stealth fighter jets to the public for the first time during the ceremony.
The F-35A jets give South Korea's Air Force the capability to evade radar detection... and that is speculated as one of the main reasons why North Korea has laid heavy criticism against South Korea for acquiring the fighter jets... saying it threatens peace on the peninsula and in the region.
South Korea aims to have 40 F-35A stealth fighters by 2021.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News, Daegu.
Kim Ji-yeon has the highlights of this year's Armed Forces Day national event.
A ceremony marking South Korea's 71st Armed Forces Day on Tuesday was a chance to show the public the readiness and capabilities of the nation's strong armed forces... in a time of geopolitical and security uncertainties.
This is in comparison to last year which was marked by a series of inter-Korean summits.
For Tuesday's event, President Moon Jae-in arrived in a Surion, one of the country's homegrown helicopters... seen as part of efforts to demonstrate the greatness of the vehicle.
This year's ceremony also stood out from previous years is that it took place at an air force base in Daegu... where fighter jets can be scrambled to reach anywhere on the Korean peninsula in less than 30 minutes and operate missions for more than three hours at a time.
As to demonstrate its might... four F15-K fighter jets took off on missions during the ceremony to cardinal points of south, east and west including the easternmost island of Dokdo... and reported their findings to the public.
Flags of 22 countries that participated in the Korean War embellished the sky... to the awe of an estimated 23-hundred spectators.
On the ground, state-of-the-arts weapons were presented... including unmanned aerial vehicles, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles, the M-SAM missile defense system, Hyunmoo-2 short-range ballistic missiles..., and the Army Tactical Missile System.
"South Korea's Army, Navy and Air Force displayed their assets including ATACMS."
The military also showcased its new F-35A stealth fighter jets to the public for the first time during the ceremony.
The F-35A jets give South Korea's Air Force the capability to evade radar detection... and that is speculated as one of the main reasons why North Korea has laid heavy criticism against South Korea for acquiring the fighter jets... saying it threatens peace on the peninsula and in the region.
South Korea aims to have 40 F-35A stealth fighters by 2021.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News, Daegu.
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