US, South Korea Plan Drone Resupply as Airdrop Drills Expand

(MENAFN) South Korea and the US staged joint aerial resupply drills on Tuesday, rehearsing how to get military equipment and supplies to forces when ground transport routes are cut off in wartime, the allies’ combined forces said.

The exercise, led by the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command (CFC), centered on rapid airborne logistics using military transport aircraft, a news agency reported, citing a CFC statement. Crews dropped heavy military equipment and lighter supplies from altitudes above 3,000 meters (9,843 feet), including in round-the-clock operations under varying conditions.

The CFC said the drills were designed to make transport aircraft more survivable and to raise the rate at which ground forces recover airdropped supplies.

Units taking part included South Korea’s Army Special Warfare Command, the 1st Logistics Support Command and the Air Force Air Mobility and Reconnaissance Command, along with the South Korea-US Combined Division.

A CFC official said the allies plan to broaden future drills to include transport drones and other equipment, to keep pace with changing battlefield conditions.

The two countries regularly hold joint exercises to sharpen interoperability and readiness against potential security threats. North Korea has repeatedly condemned such drills as rehearsals for an invasion, while Seoul and Washington maintain they are defensive. The US keeps about 28,500 troops in South Korea under a longstanding bilateral security alliance.

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