The chairmen of the South Korean and U.S. joint chiefs of staff flew in fighters over South Korea as part of an airpower demonstration on Nov. 3, 2025. (South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff)
Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, flew over South Korea with his South Korean counterpart in versions of F-16 fighters on Monday.
Caine and his counterpart, South Korean Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Jin Yong-sung, also an air force officer, flew from Osan Air Base as part of a five-ship formation of aircraft from their countries’ respective air forces, according to a news release Monday from the South Korean joint chiefs.
The flight marked the first time the joint chiefs chairmen from both countries have commanded a combined flight formation together in the air, according to the release.
“This was a command flight to feel the firm South Korea-U.S. alliance as both JCS chairman, and also air force pilots,” Jin said in the release.
South Korean air force Gen. Jin Yong-sung, left, greets U.S. Air Force Gen. Dan Caine at Osan Air Base where the two took part in a five-ship demonstration flight on Nov. 3, 2025. (South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff)
A five-ship formation of U.S. and South Korean aircraft flew over South Korean cities in an airpower demonstration on Nov. 3, 2025. (South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff)
Jin and Caine flew aboard South Korean and U.S. versions of the fighter jet, the KF-16 and F-16, respectively, after holding the 50th Military Committee Meeting in Seoul, according to the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Three other aircraft were in the formation, which flew over Osan, 40 miles south of Seoul, and the cities of Chuncheon and Daejeon and the U.S. Army’s Camp Humphreys, the largest U.S. overseas military installation, according to the release. Those three included two other F-16s or KF-16s and a South Korean E-737 airborne early warning and control aircraft, according to photos provided by the South’s joint chiefs.
A spokesman for the 51st Fighter Wing at Osan, Air Force Maj. Kippun Sumner, confirmed the flight took place and that Osan personnel supported it. He could offer no further details, citing the ongoing government shutdown, and referred questions to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and U.S. Forces Korea. The joint chiefs could not be reached after close of business and U.S. Forces Korea did not immediately respond to an email.
The South Korean joint chiefs did not return a phone message seeking further information.
Caine and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were in South Korea to take part in the allies’ annual defense talks, The Associated Press reported Monday.
Hegseth and his counterpart, National Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, together visited the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone, the borderline site near the Panmunjon truce village where talks to end the 1950-53 Korean War occurred and where military sentries from both sides still square off.
Caine last piloted an F-16 at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nev., on Oct. 19 as part of a flight demonstration in recognition of the Navy’s 250th anniversary, according to the online Defense Visual Information Distribution System.
