Republic of Korea Air Force: Difference between revisions

Republic of Korea Air Force 대한민국 공군 Daehanminguk Gong-gun
Mark of the Republic of Korea Air Force
Active	October 1, 1949 – present
Country	South Korea
Type	Air force
Size	65,000 (2012)[1]
Part of	Ministry of National Defense
Garrison/HQ	Gyeryong, South Korea
March	"Air Force Anthem" (Korean: 공군가; "Gonggunga")
Mascot(s)	Haneuli Purumae
Aircraft	760 (2010)
Engagements	Korean War Vietnam War Persian Gulf War Global War on Terrorism
Commanders
Air Force Chief of Staff	General Sung Il-hwan (since April 2012)
Insignia
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 500 combat aircraft of American design, in addition to a few Russian, European, and indigenously-designed aircraft.

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.

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 (Korean:건국기, Hanja: 建國機, Geongukgi) 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.

To counter the threat of possible North Korean aggression, the ROKAF underwent a substantial capability enhancement. The ROKAF acquired T-28 trainers, F-86D night- and all-weather interceptors, F-5 fighters and F-4D 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 C-46 aircraft used to support Republic of Korea Army and Republic of Korea Marine Corps units serving in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.^[3]

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 F-5E fighters in August 1974 and F-4E fighter bombers. Support aircraft, such as C-123s and S-2s were also purchased at the time. Great emphasis was placed in the flight training program; new trainer aircraft (T-41 and 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.

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 (hangul:제공호, hanja:制空號) 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 F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters were purchased in 1989.

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.

South Korea became one of the world's few aircraft exporters when it sold 19 KT-1B trainer aircraft to Indonesia in 2003. The last of the old South Korean 60 F-5A/B fighters were all retired in August 2007, and they are being 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.^[4]

The South Korean Air Force's primary role is to defend the country from various threats, including that of the North Korean Army and North Korean Air Force, which fields about twice as many aircraft, though mostly older and obsolete Soviet-designed fighters. As of 2008, the South Korean Air Force flew more than 180 KF-16, 174 F-5E/F, 68 F-4E, 60 F-15K, and a number of South Korean-made T-50 among its combat aircraft.

The South Korean variant the of F-15E were named the F-15K Slam Eagle due to their capability to launch the SLAM-ER missiles and Harpoon missiles.

Korean Aerospace Industries, South Korea's national aerospace company, has plans to export more KT-1 and T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer aircraft to other countries. In addition, the Ilyushin Il-103 prop-driven trainer has replaced the T-41 in the primary training role.

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.

• Republic of Korea Air Force Headquarters (대한민국 공군본부)
  • Air Force Operations Command (공군작전사령부)
    • 5th Tactical Airlift Wing (제5전술공수비행단), based at Gimhae (ICAO RKPK/IATA PUS)
      • 251st Tactical Air Support Squadron flying C-130H and C-130H-30
      • 256th Tactical Air Support Squadron flying CN235-100M
      • 258th Tactical Support Squadron flying CN235-100M and CN235-220M
      • 259th Tactical Air Support Squadron flying UH-60P
    • 15th Composite Wing (제15혼성비행단), based at Seongnam (ICAO RKSM/IATA SSN)
      • 237th Tactical Control Squadron flying 20 KA-1
      • 255th Special Operations Squadron flying C-130H
      • 257th Tactical Air Transport Squadron flying C-130H
    • 35th Combined Group
      • 296th Special Transport Squadron flying the HS-748 (2 aircraft tail numbers 1713 and 1718), CN235-220M (2 aircraft tail numbers 02-050 and 02-051), Boeing 737-3Z6 (1 aircraft tail number 85-101), Sikorsky VH-60P and the new Sikorsky S-92 (3 helicopters tail numbers 05-035, 05-050 and 05-055)
    • 6th Combat Control Team/Combat Search And Rescue Group (제6탐색구조비행전대)
  • Air Force Northern Combat Command (공군북부전투사령부)
    • 8th Fighter Wing (제8전투비행단), based at Wonju (ICAO RKNW/IATA WBJ)
      • 103rd Fighter Squadron flying F-5E/F-5F/KF-5F
      • 207th Fighter Squadron flying KF-5E and KF-5F
      • 288th Electronic Fighter Squadron flying Harpy
      • 239th Special Squadron, aka. Black Eagles Aerobatic Team(ko:블랙이글스)
    • 10th Fighter Wing (제10전투비행단), based at Suwon Air Base (ICAO RKSW/IATA SWU)
      • 101st Fighter Squadron flying KF-5E/KF-5F/F-5F
      • 201st Fighter Squadron flying KF-5E/KF-5F/F-5F
    • 39th Tactical Reconnaissance Group
      • 131st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron flying 17 RF-4C Phantom
    • 17th Fighter Wing (제17전투비행단), based at Cheongju (ICAO RKTU/IATA CJJ)
      • 152nd Fighter Squadron flying F-4E
      • 153rd Fighter Squadron flying F-4E
      • 156th Fighter Squadron flying F-4E
    • 29th Tactical Development & Training Group
      • 191st Tactical Development & Training Squadron flying F-16C/D and KF-16C/D
      • 192nd Tactical Development & Training Squadron flying F-5E/F and KF-5E/F
    • 6th Search & Rescue Group
      • 233rd Combat Search & Rescue Squadron flying Bell 412, Eurocopter AS532L/L2 Cougar and Sikorsky HH-60P helicopters
      • 235th Combat Search & Rescue Squadron flying Kamov HH-32 (KA-32T) and Boeing Vertol HH-47D Chinook helicopters
    • 18th Fighter Wing (제18전투비행단), based at Gangneung (ICAO RKNN/IATA KAG)
    • 19th Fighter Wing (제19전투비행단), based at Jungwon Air Base (ICAO RKTU/IATA CJJ)
      • 161st Fighter Squadron flying F-16C/D (Block32)
      • 162nd Fighter Squadron flying F-16C/D (Block32)
      • 155th Fighter Squadron flying KF-16C/D (Block52)
      • 159th Fighter Squadron flying KF-16C/D (Block52)
    • 20th Fighter Wing (제20전투비행단), based at Seosan Air Base (ICAO RKTP)
      • 120th Fighter Squadron flying KF-16C/D (Block52)
      • 121st Fighter Squadron flying KF-16C/D (Block52)
      • 123rd Fighter Squadron flying KF-16C/D (Block52)
      • 157th Fighter Squadron flying KF-16C/D (Block52)
  • Air Force Southern Combat Command (공군남부전투사령부)
    • 1st Fighter Wing (제1전투비행단), based at Gwangju (ICAO RKJJ/IATA KWJ)
    • 11th Fighter Wing (제11전투비행단), based at Daegu (ICAO RKTN/IATA TAE)
      • 102nd Fighter Squadron flying F-15K
      • 122nd Fighter Squadron flying F-15K
      • 110th Fighter Squadron flying F-15K
    • 16th Fighter Wing (제16전투비행단), based at Yecheon (ICAO RKTY/IATA YEC)
      • 202nd Fighter Squadron flying F-5E/F-5F/KF-5F
      • 216th Flying Training Squadron flying 16 T-59 (BAe Hawk Mk.67)
    • 38th Fighter Group (제38전투비행전대), based at Gunsan
      • 111th Fighter Squadron flying KF-16
  • Air Defence Artillery Command (방공유도탄사령부)
    • 1st Air Defence Artillery Brigade (제1방공포병여단)
    • 2nd Air Defence Artillery Brigade (제2방공포병여단)
    • 3rd Air Defence Artillery Brigade (제3방공포병여단)
  • Air Defense & Control Command (방공관제사령부), based at Osan (ICAO RKSO/IATA OSN)
    • 1st Master Control and Report Center Group (제31중앙방공통제전대), based at Osan (ICAO RKSO/IATA OSN)
    • 2nd Master Control and Report Center Group (제32중앙방공통제전대), based at Daegu (ICAO RKTN/IATA TAE)
  • Air Force Logistics Command (공군군수사령부)
    • Maintenance Depots (정비창)
    • Supply Depots (보급창)
    • Transportation Groups (수송단)
  • Air Force Education & Training Command (공군교육사령부)
    • Basic Military Training Wing (기본군사훈련단)
    • 3rd Flying Training Wing (제3훈련비행단)
    • Air Force Aviation Science High School (공군항공과학고등학교)
    • Technical Schools (병과학교)
  • Aerospace Projects Group
  • Aerial Combat Development Group (공군전투발전단)
  • Air Force Academy (공군사관학교)

One of the most recent additions to the ROKAF is F-15K Slam Eagle (Korean: F-15K 슬램 이글), an advanced derivative of the F-15E Strike Eagle which fulfilled the requirements of the "F-X" next generation fighter program in 2002. The F-15K was chosen over the Dassault Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon, and the Russian Sukhoi Su-35. Although the Rafale fighter received more favorable reviews from the senior military officials, the F-15K was chosen at the end due to the easier process of integration into the ROKAF since the Air Force already has supplies of American-designed and made weapons that can be installed on the F-15K more readily than on the Rafale.^{[citation needed]}

On June 7, 2006, an F-15K crashed off the coast of South Korea, during a nighttime intercept training mission, killing both pilots on board. The ROKAF commissioned a full investigation, lasting several months. The Republic of Korea Air Force later issued a public statement saying that the accident was apparently caused by both crew members entering a state of g-force Loss-of-Consciousness that lasted 16 seconds and resulted in loss of control of the aircraft. Various discussions included 1. the blackbox (ECSMU) was not recovered, due to the great depth (1200 ft) of the crash site. 2. F-15Ks are NOT equipped with automatic GLC (Gravity Induced Loss of Consciousness) systems, and 3. the pilots were both seasoned Air Force veterans. Other factors considered in the investigation were the cloudy weather conditions, a night mission with the use of night vision goggles. Flight control parts were found and analyzed as part of the investigation which ruled out mechanical problems with the aircraft.^[5]

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. The avionics configuration for the Phase 1 and 2 F-15K remains largely identical, and the only differences are that the weapon compatibility has been increased (Bunker Busters, etc.) and that the engines have been switched from the F110-STW-129A to the F100-PW-229EEP, an improved version of the F100-PW-229. The new engines have commonality with the F100-PW-229 engines on the KF-16 and are compatible with each other, allowing ROKAF the option to interchange the engines among the KF-16 and Phase 2 F-15K. This allows the F-15K to be equipped with a KF-16's F100-PW-229 if necessary.

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 rumored purchase number is 40-60 aircraft (9 billion dollar project). The Korean Ministry of Defense had shown interest in the F-22 Raptor, but the United States Department of Defense did not permit the export of this advanced stealth fighter. The only candidates remaining are the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, the Eurofighter, and the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle. The Sukhoi PAK FA had been shortlisted by DAPA previously, but Sukhoi failed to enter the bidding competition. Saab attended the RFP meeting, but didn't bid its Saab JAS 39 Gripen.^[6] DAPA had set the date of June 18, 2012 for the receipt of proposals with testing and evaluation taking place until September 2012 and with a winner due to be announced in October 2012.^[7] However, both Lockheed and EADS failed to submit Korean versions of their pricing and technology transfer details, leaving Boeing as the only vendor to meet the requirement for their proposal. The proposal deadline was extended to July 5.^[8][9] The RoK defense establishment had been resisting calls to delay the decision until after the presidential election.^[10] The decision to purchase 60 fighters is now due to be made by mid-2013. Emphasis is being put on driving down costs, offsets, and technology transfer. Sources in South Korea say part of the focus of which aircraft to select is being heavily based on technology transfer for the indigenous KF-X aircraft program.^[11] The Department of Defense formally notified the U.S. Congress of potential sales of the F-35A Lightning II and F-15SE Silent Eagle on 29 March 2013. Lockheed was pleased that the formal Congressional notification process was under way, but noted that price discussions are "on-going." Boeing feels that the F-15SE is a better bid, as it is cheaper and offers commonality with current F-15K Slam Eagles. However, Boeing's bid is more complicated because it is both a direct commercial sale and government-to-government foreign military sale. The Eurofighter Typhoon is still an option, but it is likely that South Korea will choose to purchase American aircraft, as they have previously.^[12] In response, EADS has offered to manufacture 48 out of 60 Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 3 fighters domestically in South Korea.^[13] Senior South Korean government officials claim that the F-X Phase 3 competition is not aimed at defending against or striking North Korea, but for keeping pace with the fighter developments of its neighbors. With Japan's decision to buy the Lockheed F-35A, China's development of the Chengdu J-20, and Russia's work on the Sukhoi PAK FA, South Korea is in need of upgrading its fighter technology.^[14] The bidding was extended because all three initial bids were above the $7.3 billion limit for the 60 aircraft (i.e. more than $121 million per aircraft).^[15][16] During bidding sessions from June 18 to July 5, Boeing, Lockheed, and EADS submitted 55 separate price proposals. On 10 July 2013, DAPA temporarily suspended bidding, as they were experiencing difficulties in making the companies offer prices within the estimated budget. According to multiple sources, Lockheed did not submit either a fixed price or a maximum price during the bidding process.^[17] On 25 July 2013, DAPA announced bidding would resume in "the third week of August." Analysts had said that was unlikely to close the price gap that stalled the previous bids, so DAPA is considering various options, including reviewing the project, increasing the overall budget, or even a split buy.^[18] Bidding will resume from August 12-16 and has a required price of $7.45 billion. The Lockheed F-35 may face an early exit because it can not be guaranteed a fixed price. Since it is still in development, price may go up significantly and exceed the limit. Lockheed might sharply push down costs in the new round of the bidding to win the deal. The runner-up or a third place aircraft has a chance to secure a deal if either of comes to within the given budget. The F-35 may only have a chance if DAPA calls off bidding and increases the budget for the program.^[19] On the final day of bidding, the F-15SE and Eurofighter Typhoon came within the given budget. DAPA admitted at least one fighter satisfied the procurement price, but declined to announce how many aircraft closed the price gap citing the ongoing procedure. As there were companies that offered price within budget, they will proceed to the next step. DAPA will evaluate all three fighters before a committee meeting and pick a winner by September. Any aircraft that exceeds the budget will not be signed for the contract. There is the possibility that there will be no winner.^[20] After Boeing reduced their bid on the F-15SE and the other two were disqualified, the F-15SE appeared to have won the competition, but this will not be confirmed until mid-September 2013.^[21] EADS maintains that the Eurofighter remains in the race and Lockheed said they had not received any official notification regarding bidding results, although sources said the F-35's bid was over-budget.^[22] Boeing also says they have not received any official notification from the Republic of Korea regarding a decision.^[23] Some South Korean Air Force officials are still pushing for an F-35 order to use for technology transfer for its KF-X domestic fighter program. Others say focusing on acquiring an expensive stealth fighter mainly for technology use stalls the intention of the F-X Phase 3 program to replace the aging F-4s and F-5s.^[24]

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[25] 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.

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. EADS has said that if South Korea selects its Eurofighter Typhoon for the F-X program, they will invest $2 billion into the KF-X program.^[26]

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.^[27] The overall performance of the drones under development in Korea is believed to be similar to the MQ-9 Reaper.

Seoul has shown interest in the high-altitude, long-endurance Global Hawk drones 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 is 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.^[28] The U.S. Congress has approved the sale to South Korea 4 Global Hawk UAV, Seoul but may have to reconsider the deal because the cost is too high.^[29]

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.^[30] On 12 August 2013, DAPA approved the plan for tanker acquisition. Bidding will 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, but it is estimated to be over $1.3 billion.^[31]

• The ROKAF Air Defence Artillery Command transferred from the Republic of Korea Army's air defense artillery and was established as a basic branch on 1 July 1991^[45] Following the establishment of the ROKAF Air Defence Artillery Command as a separate service in 1991, the army began to develop further its own air defense artillery assets (short range SAM, SPAAG and man-portable air-defense systems) in support of ground operations.

Air Defense Weapon	Origin	Type	Versions	In service	Notes
Medium & Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile
Raytheon MIM-104 Patriot	United States	surface-to-air missile	PAC-2 GEM/T	6 batteries[46]	former German Bundeswehr equipment; 48 fire units and 192 missiles
Raytheon MIM-23 Hawk	United States	surface-to-air missile	HAWK-XXI	24 batteries	600 MIM-23K missiles; Integrated with AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel[47] MIM-23 Hawk to be replaced by KM-SAM
KM-SAM	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.[48]
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.[49]
Short Range Surface-to-Air Missile
Doosan K-SAM Chunma	South Korea	Short-Range Self-Propelled SAM		100+[50]	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.[51]
Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun (SPAAG)
Doosan K263A1 Chungung	South Korea	Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun		200	K263A1 Chungung, 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. The K30 Biho's designs are strikingly similar to the German Flakpanzer Gepard
Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems (MANPADS)
LIG Nex1 KP-SAM Shingung	South Korea	MANPADS		mass production stage(since 2005)[52]	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[53]
Mistral	France	MANPADS		400+ launchers 2,760 missiles[54]	2,760 mistrals were purchased from France between 1991 and 1997
9K38 Igla	Russia	MANPADS	SA-18	50 launchers 750 missiles[55]	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.

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.

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.

• Military of South Korea
• Korean People's Army Air Force
• List of Korean Military Aircraft

• ROK Air Force official website (Korean / English)
• Korea Aerospace Industries(KAI) official website (Korean / English)
• Foxmouse Airbase (Korean)
• ROKAF (Republic of Korean Korea Air Force)