This is a subscription only section
Want to read more? It's only €10/year.
No account yet? Just Create an account first and head to the shop
This is a subscription only section
Want to read more? It's only €10/year.
Dae Han Min Guk Gong Gun
| Cheongju |
| Daegu |
| Gangneung |
| Gimhae |
| Gunsan |
| Gwangju |
| Chungju/Jungwon |
| Sacheon |
| Seongmu |
| Seosan/Haemi |
| Seongnam |
| Suwon |
| Wonju/Hoengseong |
| Yecheon |
The ROKAF is the second country in Asia, after Japan, that started to receive the F-35A Lightning II in 2018.
Jason Chen
HH-60P 01-762 of the 233 CSRS photographed against the background of the Hallasan mountains.
11 October 2018, Arjun Sarup
|
Cheongju (RKTU)
K-59
|
||||||
RWY 06R/24L, 06L/24R POS 36°42'60"N 127°29'57"E ELEV 191 ft | ||||||
| Wing | Squadron | Aircraft Type(s) | Name | Badge | ||
17 Fighter Wing |
151 Fighter Squadron | F-35A |  |
|||
| 152 Fighter Squadron | F-35A |  |
||||
| 156 Fighter Squadron | next unit to receive F-35A |
 |
||||
29 Tactical Fighter Weapons Group |
191 Tactical Training Squadron | various a/c on loan |  |
|||
| 192 Tactical Training Squadron | various a/c on loan |  |
||||
6 Search & Rescue Group |
231 Combat Search& Rescue Squadron | HH-47D | |
|||
| 233 Combat Search & Rescue Squadron | HH-60P |
 |
||||
| 235 Search & Rescue Squadron | AS332L AS332L2 Bell 412 HH-32A |
 |
||||
| It now seems both 151 and 152 FS operate the F-35A, current fleet being evenly distributed between both units. Current group and squadron names are more accurate translations for former names 29 Tactical Development & Training Group, 191 TDTS and 192 TDTS. | ||||||
The F-16 is the most numerous fighter in ROKAF service, next to the F-5, with 180 of all models (thirty F-16Cs, ten F-16Ds, 95 KF-16Cs and 45 KF-16Ds) received from 1986. They formed two new wings at two new airbases.
Marco Pennings
Only five HH-47Ds are known to be operational with 235 SRS since 1991. They operate next to seven HH-32s in the SAR role.
Dietmar Fenners
|
Chungju/Jungwon (RKTI)
K-75
|
||||||
RWY 18R/36L, 18L/36R POS 37°01'48"N 127°53'07"E ELEV 281 ft | ||||||
| Wing | Squadron | Aircraft Type(s) | Name | Badge | ||
19 Fighter Wing |
155 Fighter Squadron | KF-16C KF-16D |
Rhino |  |
||
| 161 Fighter Squadron | F-16C F-16D |
Boramae |  |
|||
| 162 Fighter Squadron | F-16C F-16D |
Black Eagle |  |
|||
39 Reconnaissance Wing |
159 Tactical Recon Squadron | KF-16C KF-16D |
Phoenix |  |
||
| 159 FS was renamed 159 TRS after the retirement of the RF-4C. Some KF-16s were modified to carry recon pods. 159 TRS belonged to both 19 FW and 39 TRG, however 159 TRS is now fully subordinate to 39 RW. Beginning November 2020, the 39th TRG was upgraded to wing status. It was set up to manage all recon assets of the RoKAF. At this moment the exact designation of the RQ-4 Global Hawk unit at Sacheon is unknown. Also part of the 39th RW are the RC-800RA Geumgangs, however for the moment we presume they stay based at Seongnam. | ||||||
|
Daegu (RKTN)
K-2
|
||||||
RWY 13R/31L, 13L/31R POS 35°53'39"N 128°39'32"E ELEV 116 ft | ||||||
| Wing | Squadron | Aircraft Type(s) | Name | Badge | ||
11 Fighter Wing |
102 Fighter Squadron | F-15K | Blue Dragon |  |
||
| 110 Fighter Squadron | F-15K | |
||||
| 122 Fighter Squadron | F-15K | Jaguar |  |
|||
The F-15K Slam Eagle is the most potent fighter in the ROKAF arsenal. The badge of the 11 Fighter Wings adorns the air intake of 08-058 coming in for landing.
19 December 2018, Chan Hyuk Han
Some RoKAF fighter aircraft do carry unit badges. KF-5F 10-611 pictured on final approach with a full-colour 105 FS badge on 3 May 2019.
Chan Hyuk Han
|
Gangneung (RKNN)
K-18
|
||||||
RWY 08/26 POS 37°45'13"N 128°56'37"E ELEV 35 ft | ||||||
| Wing | Squadron | Aircraft Type(s) | Name | Badge | ||
18 Fighter Wing |
105 Fighter Squadron | 105 FS disbanded? |  |
|||
| 112 Fighter Squadron | 112 FS disbanded? |  |
||||
| Both Gangneung squadrons stopped operating the various F-5 versions and have probably been disbanded. All KF-5E/Fs have been transferred to Suwon while the US built F-5s have been withdrawn. The base will be upgraded as it will become a future KF-21 base. | ||||||
|
Gimhae (RKPK)
K-1
|
||||||
RWY 18R/36L, 18L/36R POS 35°10'46"N 128°56'18"E ELEV 13 ft | ||||||
| Wing | Squadron | Aircraft Type(s) | Name | Badge | ||
5 Tactical Air Transport Wing |
251 Tactical Air Support Squadron | C-130H C-130H-30 C-130J-30 |
 |
|||
| 258 Tactical Air Transport Squadron | CN235-100M CN235-220M |
 |
||||
| 261 Air Tanker Squadron | KC-330 Cygnus |  |
||||
51 Air Control Group |
271 AEW&C Squadron | E-737 |  |
|||
| Air Force Logistics Command |
Maintenance and Repair Facility (MARF) | |
||||
Twenty CN235s form the backbone of the current transport fleet. Twelve were delivered in 1993-1994, and eight came from Indonesian Aerospace in 2001-2002.
Unknown
All four KC-330 Cygnus ordered have been delivered.
Chan Hyuk Han
|
Gunsan (RKJK)
K-8; Kunsan
|
||||||
RWY 18/36 POS 35°54'14"N 126°36'57"E ELEV 29 ft | ||||||
| Wing | Squadron | Aircraft Type(s) | Name | Badge | ||
38 Fighter Group |
111 Fighter Squadron | KF-16C KF-16D |
 |
|||
| The 38th Group is subordinate to the 10th Fighter Wing at Suwon AB. | ||||||
The RoKAF has its own Tiger squadron, 111 FS operating from Gunsan. The majority of their F-16s have a tigerband on the tail.
Jamie Chang
Captured during the 2017 Gyeongnam Sacheon Aerospace Expo, this F-5E has the small 206 FS badge in front of the intake.
Stefan Goossens
|
Gwangju (RKJJ)
K-57
|
||||||
RWY 04/22 POS 35°07'33"N 126°48'35"E ELEV 48 ft | ||||||
| Wing | Squadron | Aircraft Type(s) | Name | Badge | ||
1 Fighter Wing |
189 Flight Training Squadron | T-50 |  |
|||
| 206 Fighter Squadron | TA-50 Block 2 |  |
||||
| 216 Flight Training Squadron | T-50 |  |
||||
|
Sacheon (RKPS)
K-4
|
||||||
RWY 06R/24L, 06L/24R POS 35°05'19"N 128°04'13"E ELEV 25 ft | ||||||
| Wing | Squadron | Aircraft Type(s) | Name | Badge | ||
3 Training Wing |
213 Flight Training Squadron | KT-1 |  |
|||
| 215 Flight Training Squadron | KT-1 |  |
||||
| 217 Flight Training Squadron | KT-1 |  |
||||
| 236 Flight Training Squadron | KT-1 |  |
||||
52 Test Evaluation Group |
281 Test Evaluation Squadron | FA-50 T-50 |
 |
|||
| 39 Reconnaissance Wing |
??? Recon Squadron | RQ-4 Global Hawk | |
|||
| Beginning November 2020, the 39th TRG was upgraded to wing status. It was set up to manage all recon assets of the RoKAF. At this moment the exact designation of the RQ-4 Global Hawk unit at Sacheon is unknown. Also part of the 39th RW are the RC-800RA Geumgangs, however for the moment we presume they stay based at Seongnam. | ||||||
The KAI KT-1 Wong Bee basic trainer replaced the T-37 at Sacheon from 2000. A total of 85 were received, followed by twenty KA-1 FAC aircraft in 2005-2006.
Marcel Bos
At least seven An-2s could be seen on sattelite footage on Seongmu Air Base. These old bi-planes are allegedly used as adversary training within the ROKAF.
Ronald Stevelink
|
Seongmu (RKTE)
K-60
|
||||||
RWY 16/34 POS 36°34'05"N 127°30'00"E ELEV 88 ft | ||||||
| Wing | Squadron | Aircraft Type(s) | Name | Badge | ||
28 Flight Group |
208 Squadron? | An-2 | |
|||
Air Force Academy |
212 Flight Training Squadron | KT-100 |  |
|||
A single B737-3Z8 is in use since the mid nineties. It is now operated by 257 Squadron.
Chiho Lee
For its tasking the 257 Squadron can use a wide variety of aircraft including two CN235-220M(VIP).
Chan Hyuk Han
|
Seongnam (RKSM)
K-16; Sinchonri, Seoul AB
|
||||||
RWY 01/19, 02/20 POS 37°26'45"N 127°06'50"E ELEV 92 ft | ||||||
| Wing | Squadron | Aircraft Type(s) | Name | Badge | ||
15 Special Missions Wing |
255 Special Operation Squadron | C-130H C-130H-30 MC-130K |
 |
|||
| 256 Tactical Air Transport Squadron | CN235-100M |  |
||||
35 Flying Group |
257 Special Flight Squadron | BAe748-2A/248 B737-3Z8 B747-8 VH-60P CN235-220M(VIP) VCH-92 |
 |
|||
| 39 Reconnaissance Wing |
296 Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron | RC-800 (BAe125-800RA) RC-800 (BAe125-800SIG) Falcon 2000S SIGINT |
Black Bat |  |
||
| At the moment we only know the RC-800RA Geumgangs are officially part of the 39th RW. We presume the SIGINT aircraft will also be managed by this wing. Beginning November 2020, the 39th TRG was upgraded to wing status. It was set up to manage all recon assets of the RoKAF. At this moment the exact designation of the RQ-4 Global Hawk unit at Sacheon is unknown. Also part of the 39th RW are the RC-800RA Geumgangs, however for the moment we presume they stay based at Seongnam. | ||||||
ROKAF currently flies four Raytheon Hawker BAe125-800SIG Geumgang, and four BAe125-800RA aircraft, code-named Baekdu as shown here.
Chan Hyuk Han
Two Falcon 2000S SIGINT were added to the fleet of the 296 TRS since September 2017.
Chan Hyuk Han
|
Seosan/Haemi (RKTP)
K-76
|
||||||
RWY 03R/21L, 03L/21R POS 36°42'15"N 126°29'10"E ELEV 39 ft | ||||||
| Wing | Squadron | Aircraft Type(s) | Name | Badge | ||
20 Fighter Wing |
120 Fighter Squadron | KF-16C KF-16D |
 |
|||
| 121 Fighter Squadron | KF-16C KF-16D |
 |
||||
| 123 Fighter Squadron | KF-16C KF-16D |
 |
||||
| 157 Fighter Squadron | KF-16C KF-16D |
 |
||||
| Air Force Logistics Command |
Maintenance and Repair Facility (MARF) | |
||||
KF-16D 01-529 on finals. It has a toned-down 20 FW badge.
Chan Hyuk Han
A fleet of eight VH-60P have been delivered to 257 Squadron.
Arjan Sarup
|
Suwon (RKSW)
K-13
|
||||||
RWY 15L/33R, 15R/33L POS 37°14'22"N 127°00'25"E ELEV 88 ft | ||||||
| Wing | Squadron | Aircraft Type(s) | Name | Badge | ||
10 Fighter Wing |
101 Fighter Squadron | KF-5E KF-5F |
 |
|||
| 201 Fighter Squadron | KF-5E KF-5F |
 |
||||
| 153 FS retired the last RoKAF F-4E Phantoms on 7 June 2024. The unit officially disbanded on 1 September 2024. | ||||||
Old but gold, F-4E Phantom 60-493 recovering in beautiful winter light. Alas, this was a thing of the past as the last operational F-4Es of 153 FS were retired on 7 June 2024.
Jamie Chang
KF-5F 10-604 of 201 Fighter Squadron.
Unknown
|
Wonju/Hoengseong (RKNW)
K-46
|
||||||
RWY 03/21 POS 37°26'17"N 127°57'37"E ELEV 329 ft | ||||||
| Wing | Squadron | Aircraft Type(s) | Name | Badge | ||
8 Fighter Wing |
103 Fighter Squadron | FA-50 |  |
|||
| 203 Fighter Squadron | FA-50 |  |
||||
| 237 Fighter Squadron | KA-1 |  |
||||
| 53 Special Flight Group |
239 Special Flying Squadron Black Eagles Aerobatic Flying Team |
T-50B |  |
|||
FA-50 13-004 is seen making an approach after having completed its sortie at an undisclosed airbase.
Jamie Chang
Twenty KA-1s, the armed version of the KT-1 trainer have been delivered to the 237 TCS.
Jamie Chang
|
Yecheon (RKTY)
K-58
|
||||||
RWY 10/28 POS 36°37'55"N 128°21'17"E ELEV 354 ft | ||||||
| Wing | Squadron | Aircraft Type(s) | Name | Badge | ||
16 Fighter Wing |
115 Fighter Squadron | TA-50 |  |
|||
| 202 Fighter Squadron | FA-50 |  |
||||
The RoKAF is using the KAI TA-50 as a lead-in fighter trainer. Like the T-50, it also has the cut-off vertical tail.
Withheld
The KAI FA-50 is a light-attack version of the original T-50. As can be seen it has a more standard vertical tail.
Ronald Stevelink
As a member you get access to all our
premium content and benefits learn more