U.S. to Send Stealth Bombers to Gunsan
March 12, 2003
WASHINGTON - The United States will place at least six F-117 Nighthawk stealth bombers at Gunsan Air Force Base for the Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, the Defense Department said Wednesday. This is the first time in 10 years, since the Team Spirit exercise in 1993, that stealth bombers have been deployed to the peninsula.
The joint U.S.-Korea military exercise began last week and will last until April 2, with 100 support staff members for the stealth bombers taking part.
The Defense Department will also move 20 F-15E fighters, or one squadron, from Alaska's Elmendorf Air Force Base to the base at Gwangju. Previously, 18 F-15Es were moved to the peninsula to compensate for the departure of the carrier Kitty Hawk to the Middle East at the end of 2001.
The Defense Department said that the exercise was for defense preparedness and had nothing to do with the North Korean nuclear crisis. Some observers say, though, that the exercise has been beefed up to send a message to North Korea.
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