US airmen—principally US Air Force aircrews—are finally getting a training range in South Korea after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld reportedly threatened to close US air bases on the peninsula if additional training space couldn’t be provided. The Korean defense ministry plans to add a $3 million electronic scoring system at the Chikdo shooting range, reports the Korea Times. USAF already uses the range, which is on Chikdo Island off Kunsan, but has had limited access.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.