Republic of Korea Air Force

Republic of Korea Air Force
대한민국 공군
Daehanminguk Gong-gun

Repbulic of Korea Air Force emblem[1]
Active October 1, 1949 – present
Country  South Korea
Type Air force
Size 65,000 (2014)[2]4
Part of ROK Armed Forces
Garrison/HQ Gyeryong, South Korea
March "Air Force Anthem" (Korean: 공군가; Gonggunga, literally "air force song")
Mascot Haneuli
Purumae
Aircraft 710 (2014)
Engagements Korean War
Vietnam War
Persian Gulf War
Global War on Terrorism
Commanders
Air Force Chief of Staff General Choi Cha-Kyu (since April 2014)
Notable
commanders		 Chang Sung-hwan
(1962–1964)
Insignia
Republic of Korea Air Force symbol
Roundel
Low-visibility Roundel

The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF; Korean: 대한민국 공군; Hanja: 大韓民國 空軍; Revised Romanization: Daehanminguk Gong-gun), also known as the ROK Air Force, is the aerial warfare service branch of South Korea, operating under the South Korean Ministry of National Defense.

The ROKAF has about 450 combat aircraft of American design, in addition to a few Russian, European, and indigenously-designed aircraft.

History

Early years

The former ROKAF roundel, similar to the American one. It was used until 2000.
The buhwal is South Korea's first indigenously-built aircraft (1953)[3]

Shortly after the end of World War II, the South Korean Air Construction Association was founded on August 10, 1946 to publicize the importance of air power. Despite the then-scanty status of Korean armed forces, the first air unit was formed on May 5, 1948 under the direction of Dong Wi-bu, the forerunner to the modern South Korean Ministry of National Defence. On September 13, 1949, the United States contributed 10 L-4 Grasshopper observation aircraft to the South Korean air unit. An Army Air Academy was founded on January, 1949, and the ROKAF was officially founded on October, 1949.

Korean War

F-51D were among the first fighter aircraft deployed by the ROKAF.

The 1950s were a critical time for the ROKAF as it expanded tremendously during the Korean War. At the outbreak of the war, the ROKAF consisted of 1,800 personnel but was equipped with only 20 trainer and liaison aircraft, including 10 North American T-6 Texan advanced trainers purchased from Canada. The North Korean air force had acquired a considerable number of Yak-9 and La-7 fighters from the Soviet Union, dwarfing the ROKAF in terms of size and strength. However, during the course of the war, the ROKAF acquired 110 aircraft: 79 fighter-bombers, three fighter squadrons, and one fighter wing. The first combat aircraft received were North American F-51D Mustangs, along with a contingent of US Air Force instructor pilots under the command of Major Dean Hess, as part of Bout One Project. The ROKAF participated in bombing operations and flew independent sorties. After the war, the ROKAF Headquarters was moved to Daebangdong, Seoul. Air Force University was also founded in 1956.

1960s

To counter the threat of possible North Korean aggression, the ROKAF underwent a substantial capability enhancement. The ROKAF acquired North American T-28 Trojan trainers, North American F-86D Sabre night- and all-weather interceptors, Northrop F-5 fighters and McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom fighter bombers. Air Force Operations Command was established in 1961 to secure efficient command and control facilities. Air Force Logistics Command was established in 1966, and emergency runways were constructed for emergency use during wartime. The Eunma Unit was founded in 1966 to operate Curtiss C-46 Commando transport aircraft used to support Republic of Korea Army and Republic of Korea Marine Corps units serving in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.[4]

1970s

A South Korean F-4D armed with AIM-9 missiles at Daegu Air Base in January 1979.

The ROKAF was posed with a security risk, with an increasingly belligerent North Korea throughout the 1970s. The South Korean government increased its expenditure on the ROKAF, resulting in purchase of Northrop F-5E Tiger II fighters in August 1974 and F-4E fighter bombers. Support aircraft, such as Fairchild C-123 Providers and Grumman S-2 Trackers were also purchased at the time. Great emphasis was placed in the flight training program; new trainer aircraft (Cessna T-41 Mescalero and Cessna T-37) were purchased, and the Air Force Education & Training Command was also founded in 1973 to consolidate and enhance the quality of personnel training.

1980s

The ROKAF concentrated on qualitative expansion of aircraft to catch up to the strength of North Korean Air Force. In 1982, Korean variants of the F-5E, the Jegong-ho were first produced. The ROKAF gathered a good deal of information on the North Korean Air Force when Captain Lee Woong-pyeong, a North Korean pilot, defected to South Korea. The Korean Combat Operations Information center was soon formed and the Air Defence System was automated to attain air superiority against North Korea. When the 1988 Seoul Olympics was held in South Korea, the ROKAF contributed to the success of this event by helping to oversee the entire security system. The ROKAF also moved its headquarters and the Air Force Education & Training Command to other locations. Forty General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters were purchased in 1989.

1990s

South Korea committed its support for coalition forces during the Persian Gulf War, forming the "Bima Unit" to fight in the war. The ROKAF also provided airlift support for peacekeeping operations in Somalia in 1993. The increased participation in international operations depicted the ROKAF's elevated international position. Over 180 KF-16 fighters of F-16 Block 52 specifications were introduced as part of the Peace Bridge II & III program from 1994. In 1997, for the first time in Korean aviation history, female cadets were accepted into the Korean Air Force Academy.

2000s

The last of the old South Korean 60 F-5A/B fighters were all retired in August 2007, and they were replaced with the F-15K and F/A-50. On October 20, 2009, Bruce S. Lemkin, deputy undersecretary of the U.S. Air Force said that the ROKAF's limited intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities increased the risk of instability on the Korean Peninsula and suggested the purchase of American systems such as the F-35 Lightning II to close this gap.[5]

2010s

The South Korean Air Force also expressed interests in acquiring the RQ-4 Global Hawk remotely piloted vehicle (RPV) and a number of Joint Direct Attack Munition conversion kits to further improve its intelligence and offensive capabilities.

Order of battle

Taxi traffic F-16 Fighting Falcons demonstrate an 'Elephant Walk' as they taxi down the flightline at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea in 2012.
A South Korean Air Force F-15K participates in 'Red Flag Alaska'
FA-50 Fighting Eagle
A T-50B demonstrates at the 2012 Farnborough International Air Show
A Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft
Boeing 737 AEW&C aircraft of the Republic of Korea Air Force
The air force operates the Kamov Ka-32A4s helicopter with local designation HH-32 for CSAR
An Antonov An-2 of the Air Force Academy.
Doosan Chunma self-propelled surface-to-air missile system
ROKAF Raytheon MIM-104 Patriot

Current projects

Three F-15K flying in formation during the Red Flag Alaska exercises, August 2013.

F-X fighter program

Main article: F-X fighter program
F-X Phase 1

The first phase of the air forces fighter procurement programs was the addition to the ROKAF of the F-15K Slam Eagle to fulfill the requirements of the "F-X" next generation fighter program in 2002.

F-X Phase 2

For the second phase of the F-X program, ROKAF has purchased 21 additional F-15K to compensate for the retirement of their F-5A/B in August 2007.

F-X Phase 3

The third phase of the F-X project is a bid for an advanced multi-role strike fighter aircraft by 2014, intended to replace the aging F-4 Phantom II and F-5. The F-35A Lightning II was selected in November 2013 following the cancellation of the previous competitive tender, with 40 Block 3F aircraft to be acquired beginning in 2018. 20 additional unspecified fighter will also be purchased.[6] The contract became formal on September 2014.[7]

E-X Early warning aircraft program

The E-X Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft program (also known as 'Peace Eye') was undertaken by the Republic of Korea Air Force to purchase AEW capability to strengthen ROKAF's ability to detect and distinguish between friendly and hostile aircraft. The two candidates for this program were the Boeing 737 AEW&C and a consortium of Israel Aerospace Industries, Elta, L-3 Communications and Gulfstream Aerospace offering a Gulfstream G500/G550 aircraft equipped with Phalcon radar.

Originally, the ROKAF preferred the Gulfstream as it was cheaper than the Boeing counterpart. The Gulfstream was, in turn, less capable than the Boeing. However, the fact that almost no other nations, barring Japan, has advanced AWACS gave the Koreans the impression that the Gulfstream would be adequate enough to handle the given task of the E-X project.

The United States issued a warning to the IAI/Elta consortium that several of the AWACS technologies employed aboard the Gulfstream were developed by the United States, such as the IFF system, TADIL A/B (Link 11) and J (Link 16), satellite communications and AN/ARC-164 Have Quick II radios, and thus that Israel was obliged not to resell any of these technologies to another country without the permission of the United States.

In August 2006 DAPA announced that the Gulfstream was disqualified from the competition because of the failure to obtain US export licences for the datalinks and satellite communications, leaving the Boeing as the only proposal.[8] In November 2006, the Boeing 737 AEW&C was announced to be the winner of the E-X AEW aircraft competition. In 2011, the first two of four Peace Eye aircraft were delivered. The final two aircraft were delivered in 2012.

KF-X future fighter program

The KF-X program is an early-stage project to develop an indigenous fighter aircraft. The current proposal is to develop an F-16 Block 50 class aircraft with basic stealth capabilities to replace the F-4D/E Phantom II and F-5E/F Tiger II aircraft. South Korea is reportedly seeking technological assistance from Saab, Boeing and Lockheed Martin for the production of the KF-X. On 15 July 2010, the Indonesia government agreed to fund 20% of KF-X project cost in return of around 50 planes built for Indonesian Air Force after project completion. In September 2010, Indonesia sent a team of legal and aviation experts to South Korea to discuss copyright issues of the aircraft. In December 2010 the program shifted from a F-16 class fighter to a stealth aircraft in order to respond to North Korean pressure.

The KF-X is envisioned as a medium fighter to at first supplement, then replace the ROK Air Force's KF-16 fleet. It will have capabilities in between the light FA-50 fighter and the high-grade, long range, heavy payload F-15K and F-35 Lightning II.[9]

Mid-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (MUAV)

South Korea will resume a once-aborted program to develop mid-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (MUAV) to bolster its monitoring capabilities of North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs. The state-funded Agency for Defense Development launched the indigenous drone development project in 2006 and made a prototype in May 2010. The medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV is designed to fly at an altitude of up to 10 kilometers and its radar can scan as far as 100 km. Korea hopes to complete development of the combat drones by 2018.[10] The overall performance of the drones under development in Korea is believed to be similar to the MQ-9 Reaper.

HALE (High Altitude, Long Endurance) UAV

Seoul had shown interest in the high-altitude, long-endurance Global Hawk drone to conduct intelligence missions on North Korea, as it is preparing to take over wartime operational control from Washington at the end of 2015. But the price was nearly a three-fold jump from the initial price estimated by the defense ministry, and much higher than $875 million offered by the U.S. government in July 2011.[11] The U.S. Congress approved the sale to South Korea for 4 Global Hawk UAVs, but Seoul could have reconsidered the deal because of the high costs.[12] Northrop Grumman was awarded the contract to provide South Korea with four Block 30 Global Hawks in December 2014, with all to be delivered by June 2019.[13]

Aerial tanker

The Air Force is to acquire four aerial refueling tankers between 2017-2019. Potential candidates include the Airbus MRTTA330 and the Boeing KC-46. The tankers will be used to refuel combat jet fighters. Previous attempts to buy tankers had been delayed due to budget constraints.[14] On 12 August 2013, DAPA approved the plan for tanker acquisition. Bidding was to begin in February 2014, with the winner to be announced in October 2014 after evaluations of price and performance. Air-to-air refueling will increase the endurance of the KF-16 by 70 minutes, and the F-15K by 90 minutes. DAPA declined to reveal the budget for the plan and estimated to be over $1.3 billion.[15] A plan to buy four aircraft was to be approved in November 2013, with evaluations to proceed from March to May 2014. The contract is valued at $940 million.[16] Along with the Airbus A330 MRTT and Boeing KC-46, Israel Aerospace Industries is offering a version of the Boeing 767-300ER-derived multimission tanker transport.[17]

Modern equipment

Aircraft inventory

Aircraft style="text-align:left;"width:15%;"|Origin Role Versions In service[18] Notes
Combat aircraft
McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle  United States fighter-bomber F-15K Slam Eagle (Batch I)
F-15K Slam Eagle (Batch II) 		39
21 		ROKAF received a total of 61[19]
Batch I - 40 aircraft (F110-GE-129 engine)
Batch II - 21 aircraft (F100-PW-229 EEP engine)
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon  United States fighter
fighter-trainer (tandem)
fighter
fighter-trainer (tandem) 		F-16C Bk 32
F-16D Bk 32
KF-16C Bk 52/52+
KF-16D Bk 52/52+ 		27
7
90
44		 ROKAF received a total of 180 F-16s.
Peace Bridge I - 30 F-16C Block 32 and 10 F-16D Block 32 (also known as F-16PB in order to distinguish between F-16 and KF-16)
Peace Bridge II - 80 KF-16C Block 52 and 40 KF-16D Block 52
Peace Bridge III - 14 KF-16C Block 52+ and 6 KF-16D Block 52+
KF-16 built by Samsung Aerospace (now Korean Aerospace Industries) under license
All F-16PB will be upgraded to F-16PBU, and KF-16 will be upgraded as well.
Some KF-16 will be modified to RKF-16 in order to replace RF-4C.
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II  United States fighter F-35A Bk 3F (40)[20]
KAI FA-50 Fighting Eagle  South Korea fighter-trainer (tandem) FA-50 Batch I
FA-50 Batch II		 20[21]
(40)[22]		40 more FA-50S ordered on 2013, to be delivered by october 2016.[22]
FA-50 will replace American built F-5E/Fs
Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II  United States fighter
fighter-trainer (tandem)
fighter
fighter-trainer (tandem) 		F-5E
F-5F
KF-5E
KF-5F		 174[23] ROKAF received a total of 214 F-5E/Fs.(126 F-5E, 20 F-5F, 48 KF-5E, and 20 KF-5F)
KF-5 built by Korean Air under license between 1982 and 1986
F-5E/F to be replaced by FA-50
McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II  United States fighter-bomber F-4E 40[24] ROKAF received a total of 103 F-4E[25]
Transport Aircraft
Boeing 737-300  United States VIP transport 737-3Z8 1 Used as Presidential Transport
Boeing 747-400  United States VIP transport 747-4B5 1 Used as Presidential Transport (leased from Korean Air)
Avro 748  United Kingdom VIP transport HS.748 2
CASA CN-235  Spain VIP transport VCN-235 2
CASA CN-235  Spain
 Indonesia		 tactical transport CN-235-100
CN-235-220 		12
6 		built by CASA
built by IPTN
Lockheed C-130 Hercules  United States tactical transport C-130H
C-130H-30 		8
4
Lockheed C-130J Super Hercules  United States tactical transport C-130J-30 4[26]
Undesignated Aircraft
Antonov An-2  Polandevaluation L-2 20 The L-2 variant were purchased from Poland as general utility aircraft and trainers.[27]
CAP-10B  France evaluation CAP10 2 Although it is not common to assign HL code to military aircraft, these CAP-10 are one of a few exceptions.[28]
Reconnaissance Aircraft
BAe 125 Hawker 800  United States Imagery intelligence (IMINT)
Signals intelligence (SIGINT)		 RC-800RA
RC-800SIG 		4[29]
4[29]
Dassault Falcon 2000S  France Signals intelligence 2[30] ELINT
KAI KA-1 Woongbi  South Korea forward air control & liaison KA-1 20[31] equipped with a 12.7 mm gun pod (FN Herstal HMP-250), chaffes, flares, missiles, rockets or unguided bombs.[32]
Airborne early warning and control
Boeing 737 AEW&C  United States AEW&C 737-700IGW 4[33] Peace Eye
Reviewing to introduce additional 2~3 Peace Eyes.[34]
Trainer Aircraft
Ilyushin Il-103  Russia primary trainer T-103 22 23 Il-103 were given by Russia in 2004 as a partial payment of debts incurred during the Soviet era. To be replaced by 23 KC-100s.[35]
KAI KT-1 Woongbi  South Korea basic trainer KT-1 84 ROKAF received a total of 85 KT-1[31]
KAI T-50 Golden Eagle  South Korea supersonic advanced trainers
aerobatic specialized
Lead-In Fighter Trainer 		T-50
T-50B
TA-50 		49
9
22 		ROKAF received a total of 50 T-50s.[31]
ROKAF received a total of 10 T-50B.[31] [36]
ROKAF received a total of 22 TA-50.[31] The aircraft are equipped with the Israeli EL/M-2032 radar, the TA-50 is combat-capable.[37]
Helicopters
Bell 412  United Statestrainer(being phased out) Bell-412SP 3 Used as Presidential Transport (1982~1988)
Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma  FranceCombat Search and Rescue AS-332 L2 3 Used as Presidential Transport (1988~1999), four originally delivered.
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk  United States VIP transport helicopter VH-60P 5Used as Presidential Transport (1999~2007)
Sikorsky S-92  United States VIP transport helicopter VH-92 3 Used as Presidential Transport from 2007.
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk  United StatesCombat Search and Rescue HH-60P 10 Around 150 were license-produced by Korean Air's aerospace division for all three services which included 10 HH-60Ps for the air force.[38]
Kamov Ka-32 Helix-C  RussiaCombat Search and Rescue HH-32A 7
Boeing CH-47 Chinook  United StatesCombat Search and Rescue
Transport helicopter 		HH-47D
CH-47D 		5[39]
5[39]		 ROKAF received a total of 11 CH-47D
The 5 CH-47D helicopters are used for transporting personnel and cargo in support of radar station operations.
UAVs
Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk  United States Reconnaissance UAV RQ-4B Block 30 (4) On order, to be delivered by 2019.[13]

Air-defense weapons

style="text-align:left;"width:10%;"|Air Defense Weapon style="text-align:left;"width:15%;"|Origin style="text-align:left;"width:10%;"|Type style="text-align:left;"width:8%;"|Versions style="text-align:left;"width:7%;"|In service style="text-align:left;"width:40%;"|Notes
Medium & Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile
Raytheon MIM-104 Patriot  United Statessurface-to-air missile PAC-2 GEM/T 6 batteries[41] Former German Bundeswehr equipment; 48 fire units and 192 missiles. PAC-2 missiles to be upgraded and PAC-3 missiles to be acquired.[42]
Raytheon MIM-23 Hawk  United States surface-to-air missile HAWK-XXI 24 batteries 600 MIM-23K missiles; Integrated with AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel[43] MIM-23 Hawk to be replaced by KM-SAM
KM-SAM Cheongung South Korea surface-to-air missile The KM-SAM' so-called M-SAM Cheolmae-2 with the help of Russia by the Almaz-Antey Design Bureau, in association with an industry team from Korea lead by Samsung Thales. This team included missile builder LIG Nex1 and platform manufacturer Doosan DST.[44] This system shares many technical components with Russian version S-350e Vityaz missile system.
Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD)  South Korea missile defense system South Korea, which decided not to join the U.S.-led global missile defense(MD) system, has gradually been building an independent, low-tier missile shield called the Korea Air and Missile Defense System (KAMD) since 2006.[45]
Short Range Surface-to-Air Missile
Doosan K-SAM Chunma South Korea Short-Range Self-Propelled SAM 100+[46] Samsung Thales to jointly develop a South Korean-augmented French Crotale NG system for the K-SAM Pegasus, as well as a new indigenous missile by LIG Nex1. The electronics and radars were developed by Samsung Electronics. Doosan DST integrated this modified with a ROKA K-200 IFV hull/chassis AKA the K-21.[47]
Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun (SPAAG)
Doosan K263A1  South Korea Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun 200 K263A1, a self-propelled 20mm Vulcan system. It combines an electro-optically guided 20mm gun system with a surveillance radar system on a K200 chassis.
Doosan K30 Biho  South Korea Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun 176 A K30 Biho system consists of twin 30mm guns, adapts the chassis of the K200 infantry fighting vehicle. Modernisation program is under way since 2013.
Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems (MANPADS)
LIG Nex1 KP-SAM Shingung South Korea MANPADS mass production stage(since 2005)[48] The New Bow (Shingung, Shin-Gung or internationally as the Chiron) is a shoulder-launched missile targeting helicopters, or low-flying fighter and transport aircraft. It has a 7 km maximum target range and flies at a maximum altitude of 3.5 km and maximum speed of Mach 2.1[49]
Mistral  France MANPADS 400+ launchers
2,760 missiles[50] 		2,760 mistrals were purchased from France between 1991 and 1997
9K38 Igla  Russia MANPADS SA-18 50 launchers
750 missiles[51] 		In late 2003, the delivery of the Igla SAMs from Russia in payment for Russian debts to Korea appear to have solved the problem momentarily.

Former equipment

Aircraft

Aircraft Introduction Type Versions Notes
Fixed-wing Aircraft
Piper L-4 Grasshopper 1948 Trainer 1st aircraft operated by ROKAF
Received 20 L-4
North American T-6 Texan 1950 Trainer T-6 Texan Received 10 T-6
North American P-51 Mustang 1950 Fighter F-51D Mustang Received 203 F-51D
Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando 1955 Transport Received 28 C-46
Douglas C-47 Skytrain 1955 Transport Received 15 C-47
North American F-86 Sabre 1955 Fighter
Reconnaissance		 F-86F Sabre
RF-86F Sabre		 Received 112 F-86F and 10 RF-86F
Retired in 1990
Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star 1955 Trainer
Reconnaissance		 T-33A Shooting Star
RT-33A Shooting Star		 Received 9 T-33A and 4 RT-33A
Retired in 1992
North American T-28 Trojan 1960 Trainer T-28A Trojan Received 33 T-28A
Retired in 1989
North American F-86D Sabre 1961 Fighter F-86D Sabre Received 50 F-86D
Retired in 1972
Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter 1965 Fighter
Fighter-trainer
Reconnaissance		 F-5A Freedom Fighter
F-5B Freedom Fighter
RF-5A Freedom Fighter		 Received 88 F-5A, 30 F-5B, and 8 RF-5A
Transferred 36 F-5A and 8 RF-5A to the Republic of Vietnam in exchange of F-4D Phantom II from the U.S.
5 RF-5A were brought back from the Republic of Vietnam before its fall
Retired in 2005
8 F-5A were donated to the Philippines
Douglas C-54 Skymaster 1966 Transport Received 17 C-54
Retired in 1992
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II 1969
1989		 Fighter-bomber
Reconnaissance		 F-4D Phantom II
RF-4C Phantom II		 Received 92 F-4D; retired in 2010
Received 18 RF-4C and another 9 as spare parts; retired in 2014
Grumman S-2 Tracker 1970 ASW aircraft S-2A Tracker Transferred to ROKN in 1976
ROKAF/ROKN received 26 S-2A
Cessna T-41 Mescalero 1972 Trainer T-41B Mescalero Received 27 T-41B
Retired in 2006
15 were donated to Philippines
Cessna T-37 Tweet 1973 Trainer T-37C Tweet Received 55 (30 ex-Brazil) T-37C
Retired in 2004
Fairchild C-123 Provider 1973 Transport C-123K Provider Received 22 C-123
Retired in 1994
Cessna O-2 Skymaster 1974 FAC aircraft O-2A Skymater Retired in 2006
Cessna A-37 Dragonfly 1976 Light attack A-37B Dragonfly Received 20 A-37B
Retired in 2007
8 A-37B were donated to Peru
Northrop T-38 Talon 1999 Trainer T-38A Talon Leased 30 T-38A from US
Returned to the US in 2009
BAE Hawk 1992 Trainer T-59 (Hawk 67) Received 20 BAE Hawk
Retired in 2013
Rotary-wing Aircraft
Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw 1958 Search and Rescue H-19D Retired in 1976[52]
Bell UH-1 Iroquois 1968
1971, 1977		 Search and Rescue
Presidential Transport		 UH-1B
UH-1N		 UH-1B retired in 1994
UH-1N retired in 2005

Military ranks

Officer ranks can be learned fairly easily if one sees the pattern. "So" equals small; "Jung" equals medium; "Dae" equals large. "Jun" equals the prefix sub-.. Each of these is coupled with "wi" equals company grade, "ryeong" equals field grade, and "jang" equals general. This system is due to the hanja or Sino-Korean origin of the names.

Commissioned officers

ROK Air Force rank ROK Air Force insignia
Dae-jang

(General)
Jung-jang

(Lieutenant General)
So-jang

(Major General)
Jun-jang

(Brigadier General)
Dae-ryeong

(Colonel)
Jung-ryeong

(Lieutenant Colonel)
So-ryeong

(Major)
Dae-wi

(Captain)
Jung-wi

(First Lieutenant)
So-wi

(Second Lieutenant)

Warrant officers

ROK Air Force rank ROK Air Force insignia
Jun-wi

(Warrant Officer)

 ²

Non-commissioned officers

ROK Air Force rank ROK Air Force insignia
Won-sa

(Chief Master Sergeant)
Sang-sa

(Senior Master Sergeant)
Jung-sa

(Master Sergeant)
Ha-sa

(Technical Sergeant)

Enlisted

ROK Air Force rank ROK Air Force insignia
Byeong-jang

(Staff Sergeant)
Sang-byeong

(Senior Airman)
Il-byeong

(Airman First Class)
I-byeong

(Airman)
Shinbyeong

(Airman Basic)

¹: No one held the rank of Won-su in the history of the ROK Armed Forces yet.
²: The Jun-wi (Warrant Officer)'s insignia is in brass color while the ones of Second Lieutenant and higher are in silver color.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "ROKAF Mark". www.airforce.mil.kr. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  2. ↑ "국방백서 2014" (PDF). December 2014.
  3. ↑ "경남도, 국산비행기 1호 '부활호' 복원". news.naver.com. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  4. ↑ "Vietnam Studies: Allied Participation in Vietnam, Chapter VI: The Republic of Korea." page 131.
  5. ↑ Korea Urged to Secure Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems
  6. ↑ South Korea to obtain 40 F-35As - Flightglobal.com, 22 November 2013
  7. ↑ "South Korea's biggest-ever weapons buy: $7B for 40 F-35A jets".
  8. ↑ Brendan Sobie (3 August 2006). "South Korea selects Boeing 737-based AEW&C system over Gulfstream G550 platform". Flightglobal.com. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  9. ↑ Seoul Plans Phased-Development, Typhoon-Size Fighter - Aviationweek.com, 29 April 2013
  10. ↑ Korea to begin development of mid-altitude UAV” - english.yonhapnews.co.kr, June 14, 2013
  11. ↑ "U.S. Congress approves sale of four spy drones to S. Korea". arirang.co.kr. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  12. ↑ "Korea rejected the U.S. Global Hawk UAV ?". news.dbv.vn. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Seoul finalises $657 million Global Hawk purchase - Flightglobal.com, 17 December 2014
  14. ↑ Air Force to acquire 4 aerial refueling tankers by 2019 - Globalpost.com, 6 August 2013
  15. ↑ S. Korea To Extend Range of Jets With Aerial Tankers - Defensenews.com, 12 August 2013
  16. ↑ South Korea To Open Bid for Aerial Tankers - Defensenews.com, 18 October 2013
  17. ↑ IAI offers 767 conversion for South Korean tanker contest - Flightglobal.com, 30 June 2014
  18. ↑ South Korean military aviation OrBat
  19. ↑ http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20100908000668
  20. ↑ "South Korea to sign deal this month to buy 40 F-35 jets for $7 billion: sources". Reuters. Reuters. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  21. ↑ "FA-50s committed to better defense of peninsula". koreatimes. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "“첫 국산 FA-50 전투기로 영공방위 최선”". 대한민국 정부 공식 정책정보지 "위클리 공감". Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  23. ↑ "F-5 전투기, 대한민국 영공 50년간 지킨 '현역'". newdaily.co.kr. 뉴데일리. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  24. ↑ "F5·F4 전투기 220여대…공군 전력 절반이 노후 기종". www.ytn.co.kr. YTN. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  25. ↑ http://news.bemil.chosun.com/bbs/view.html?b_bbs_id=10005&num=41
  26. ↑ http://www.newdaily.co.kr/news/article.html?no=206082
  27. ↑ "한국군, 북 대남 공중침투용 AN-2 20여 대 비밀 운용". 중앙일보. 2009-05-09. Retrieved 2013-06-05.
  28. ↑ "한국 공군 CAP-10B". afbase.com. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "[김정일 사망 이후] 10여년간 정권교체 외풍 탓 휴민트 사실상 붕괴". news.naver.com. 한국일보 =. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  30. ↑ "최초 도입하는 군용 프랑스제 Biz 항공기". bemil.chosun.com. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 31.4 "KT-1훈련기·KA-1경공격기 24대 페루 수출 유력". 조선일보. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  32. ↑
  33. ↑ http://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0101_201210242027562417
  34. ↑
  35. ↑ PICTURES: Korea air force academy to obtain 23 KAI KC-100s - Flightglobal.com, 15 May 2014
  36. ↑ http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2012/11/15/89/0301000000AEN20121115005352315F.HTML
  37. ↑ http://us.24hournewsonline.com/2012/10/03/philippines-acquiring-3-dozens-of-ta-50-fighter-jets
  38. ↑ "UH-60P Model History:". helis.com. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 "대한민국 육군 결단내려, 공군에 치누크 5대 인계". 유용원의 군사세계. 2014-01-14. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  40. ↑ http://www.law.go.kr/lsInfoP.do?lsiSeq=10329#0000
  41. ↑ "한국군 ‘북 탄도미사일’ 방어시스템은 - 아시아경제". Asiae.co.kr. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
  42. ↑ South Korea to purchase Patriot PAC-3 air defense missile system from United States next year - Armyrecognition.com, 13 March 2014
  43. ↑ http://www.koreadefence.net/wys2/file_attach/2009/10/11/1255272637-60.jpg
  44. ↑ http://defense-update.com/20111217_cheongung_mrsam.html
  45. ↑ http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2013/04/10/17/0301000000AEN20130410010900315F.HTML
  46. ↑ http://blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=ktx111&logNo=149450388
  47. ↑ http://tanknutdave.com/the-roka-k-sam-pegasus/
  48. ↑ http://kookbang.dema.mil.kr/kookbangWeb/m/view.do?ntt_writ_date=20050916&parent_no=4&bbs_id=BBSMSTR_000000000138
  49. ↑ http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/rok/kp-sam.htm
  50. ↑ http://www.sisapress.com/news/quickViewArticleView.html?idxno=2540
  51. ↑ http://slams.tistory.com/entry/%EC%9D%B4%EA%B8%80%EB%9D%BC-%EB%AF%B8%EC%82%AC%EC%9D%BC
  52. ↑ "한국공군 탐색구조헬기 간단도입사". Retrieved 2013-06-21.

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