The U.S. and South Korean militaries conducted a live-fire training exercise with significant participation from aerial and ground forces of the two countries on 6th ahead of the 2025 South Korea-U.S. joint exercise "Freedom Shield (FS)."
According to military authorities, a joint live-fire training exercise linked to the FS exercise was held at the Pocheon Seungjin Science Training Center. This live-fire exercise is a precursor to the FS exercise starting on the 10th and marks the first joint training.
About 500 service members participated in the training, including the Army's Capital Mechanized Infantry Division Tank Battalion Task Force, the Special Operations Command Support Brigade under the Ground Operations Command, the Drone Combat Battalion, and the Air Force Operations Command's combat flight groups and fleets, as well as the 5th-17th Battalion, Information Operations Team of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division/South Korea-U.S. Combined Division.
Ground equipment included over 150 units such as the Army's K2 tank, K1A2 tank, K21 infantry fighting vehicle, K55A1 self-propelled howitzer, 120mm self-propelled mortar, Apache attack helicopters, Biho systems, and U.S. reconnaissance drones. Additionally, 13 units of 4th and 5th generation fighter aircraft such as F-35A, F-15K, KF-16, and FA-50 from the Air Force Operations Command participated.
The training was conducted under the assumption that friendly forces were assigned a counterattack mission during defensive operations. After reconnaissance drones from the Drone Combat Battalion identified enemy movements and defensive positions, they relayed this information to the artillery units, which commenced firing, enabling the mechanized units to maneuver.
An F-35A, having received target information from the Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC), undertook suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) by neutralizing enemy surface-to-air missiles and flak cannons with air-to-ground bombs, then escaped the danger zone through flare deployment and evasive maneuvers.
Subsequently, F-15K, KF-16, and FA-50 were deployed for close air support (CAS), dropping approximately 30 bombs on targets and annihilating enemy counterattack units. The MK-84 bomb dropped by F-15K can penetrate 60cm thick concrete and create a crater 15 meters in diameter and 4 meters deep. The lethal radius covers an area 16 times that of a soccer field.
Colonel Cho Seung-jae, who unified command of the joint ground forces, noted, "We were able to enhance the capability of joint operations through the operation of combined intelligence assets and live-fire exercises involving battalion-level firepower."