The Air Force on Wednesday held an exercise aimed at boosting readiness against threats posed by North Korean cruise missiles and mobile missile vehicles amid an ongoing major South Korea-U.S. military exercise.

The air interdiction drills, which mobilized some 20 aircraft, including F-35A and F-15K fighters, took place on the second last day of the Freedom Shield exercise that began last week to bolster deterrence against North Korean nuclear and missile threats.

Pilots trained on response procedures in various scenarios, such as enemy aircraft infiltrations and cruise missile launches, by closely coordinating with the on-ground control and reporting center, according to the Air Force.

The drills involved fighter jets shooting down enemy aircraft and a cruise missile, and dropping guided bombs to destroy transporter erector launchers (TELs), it said.

TELs allow missile units to be mobile, making missile launches relatively more difficult to detect beforehand, compared with fixed launch sites.

Pyongyang
has continued its weapons development push this year, staging five rounds of cruise missile launches, including what it claimed to be a new surface-to-sea missile on Feb. 14.

Source: Yonhap News Agency