S. Korea, U.S. kick off ’Freedom Shield’ military exercise on Monday

한∙미 ’자유의 방패’ 연습 돌입 올해 첫 공중연합 ’쌍매훈련’ 시작 Today marks day one, of Seoul and Washington’s 11-day major combined military exercise, “Freedom Shield.“ Fighter jets are preparing to take off, while Air Forces and Navies also conducted command post training to strengthen defense capabilities against growing threats from North Korea. Our defense correspondent Choi Min-jung reports. South Korea’s F-15K fighter jets have arrived at the U.S. Air Force based in the city of Pyeongtaek, to begin Seoul and Washington’s first Buddy Squadron training of the year. The five-day training began, as the allies on Monday, kicked off their annual combined military exercise, “Freedom Shield.“ Monday’s air drill is one of many field training exercises conducted during “Freedom Shield.“ This year, there are a total of 48 combined drills on land, at sea, and in the air, double the number in the same period last year. They also conduct computer-simulated command post training with a focus on countering North Korea’s nuclear operations. It’s based on scenarios that reflect a range of threats within the security environment, such as detecting and intercepting cruise missiles. The Navies from both countries got together in Busan on Monday to participate in the command post training, as did the Combined Air Component Command at the Korea Air and Space Operations Center at Osan Air Base. Meanwhile, South Korean reconnaissance aircraft RQ-4 Global Hawk, and U.S. RC-135V reconnaissance plane were reportedly spotted, in apparent moves to monitor North Korea. “Freedom Shield“ primarily aims to strengthen Seoul and Washington’s combined readiness and defensive posture, amid escalating North Korean threats, a move most likely to anger the North. The exercise will run until March 14th. Choi Min-jung, Arirang News. #SouthKorea #UnitedStates #Combined_military_exercise #Freedom_Shield #FS #대한민국 #미국 #자유의_방패 #한미_연합_훈련 #쌍매_훈련 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2024-03-04, 18:00 (KST)