U.S. replacing Apaches in S. Korea with F-16s from Japan: report

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Yonhap) -- The United States plans to deploy an F-16 fleet from
Japan to replace a squadron of Apache attack helicopters scheduled to be
relocated out of South Korea next month, a report said Monday.
An official at the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command confirmed the report
posted on the Internet by U.S. military newspaper Stars and Stripes.
"The unit from Misawa Air Base, Japan, is gearing up for a six-month deployment
to South Korea, where a dozen F-16 fighters and about 400 airmen will temporarily
replace an Army attack and reconnaissance helicopter battalion," the report said.
The U.S. said last month it has decided to deploy F-16s instead of A-10 attack
aircraft to replace 24 AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters that are set to return
to the U.S. in March for future redeployment to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The U.S. cited the need to inspect its A-10s for newly discovered structural
problems, but the announcement raised concerns here whether multi-role fighter
jets can substitute for air-to-ground attack aircraft.
"The deployment of the 13th (Fighter Squadron) is aimed at balancing assets to
support regional security in the Asia-Pacific theater and meet the needs of the
ongoing global war on terror," the report quoted spokeswoman Allison Day as
saying.
The rotation "keeps the F-16s within the region and close to Japan as opposed to
out-of-theater deployments that have previously been conducted," she was quoted
as saying.
About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against
North Korea -- a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce rather
than a peace treaty.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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