US, South Korea fly fewer air drills but sharply increase joint combat sorties

A South Korean FA-50 Fighting Eagle, left, flies alongside two F-15K Slam Eagle fighters over Gwangju Air Base, South Korea, April 18, 2025. (Micah Taylor/U.S. Marine Corps)

OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — U.S. and South Korean fighters launched Monday from this base south of Seoul for a scaled-up round of aerial combat training that will feature fewer drills but significantly more flights and participating forces, according to the South’s Ministry of National Defense.

The five-day exercise, known as Buddy Squadron, will run only four times this year, down from eight in 2025. However, the total number of sorties will be “drastically” increased and the size of the forces involved will more than double, the ministry said in a press release Monday.

The change came about after consultations with the United States following its retirement of the A-10 Thunderbolt close-air support aircraft and an “adjustment of assets,” South Korean air force spokesman Lt. Col. Jang Dong-ha said at a news briefing Monday.

The U.S. Air Force recently reorganized its F-16 units into two “super squadrons” at Osan.

South Korean air force KF-16 Fighting Falcons from the 121st and 111th squadrons are training alongside U.S. F-16s from the 35th Fighter Wing in air-to-air tactics and joint mission scenarios, the ministry said.

“It will serve as an opportunity for South Korean and U.S. pilots to share the latest tactics, fly together and strengthen interoperability,” South Korean air force Capt. Lee Seung-Hyun, who is scheduled to fly in the exercise, said in the release.

Interoperability is a term the military uses to describe one country’s ability to employ another’s equipment and training.

During the drills, U.S. and South Korean pilots will alternate between aggressor and defender roles as they practice tactical maneuvers, the ministry said.

South Korean F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters and FA-50 Fighting Eagles are also expected to participate in training aimed at integrating fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft, according to the ministry.

The exercise began in 1991 as Friendship Training and has been known as Buddy Squadron since 1997. It rotates between U.S. and South Korean air bases.

Last year, Buddy Squadron coincided in March with Freedom Shield, one of two major annual joint U.S.-South Korean exercises. The other, Ulchi Freedom Shield, takes place in the summer.

South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said in January that the drills would proceed as planned this year, after President Lee Jae-myung in November raised the possibility of scaling back exercises.

Lee said Seoul was interested in reducing tensions with Pyongyang, according to a Nov. 24 report by NK News.