F-15Es from the 494th Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, Britain, flew to Kunsan AB, South Korea, last month for “buddy” training with South Korean air force F-15Ks. “I am amazed at how seamlessly we integrated the F-15Es and the F-15Ks into combat training,” said Capt. Titus Amundson, a 494th FS pilot. He and his Lakenheath colleagues exchanged tactics and critiques with pilots of the South Korean air force’s 38th Fighter Group. The F-15Es flew air-to-air maneuvers with the F-15Ks and USAF F-16s of Kunsan’s 8th FW. “Despite the language and cultural barriers, Buddy Wing proved to be a class act that has refined the capability for the USAF and [South Korean air force] to fly side by side in combat, if required,” stressed Amundson. The training took place July 19-21. (Kunsan report by 1st Lt. Trisha Eldredge)
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.