Vigilante Ace exercise: US to send F-22 jets to South Korea in show of force for Pyongyang

The F-22 fighter jets, which are capable of executing precision attacks under the radar, will depart for the drill from the Kadena Air Base on the Japanese island of Okinawa and will stay at a US base in South Korea during the exercise. Up to four F-35 Lighting stealth fighters are also likely to join the bi-annual exercise, which simulates their defensive strategies in the event of war, according to Yonhap news agency.

The deployment of six fighters on the peninsular is part of an agreement signed between Washington and Seoul, which aims at expanding “rotational deployment” of US strategic assets on the Korean peninsula and pressuring North Korea to drop its nuclear programme.