South Korea bid farewell to its fleet of F-4 Phantom II fighter-bombers Friday in a ceremony marking their full retirement after 55 years in service.

In the ceremony attended by Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, two Phantoms staged their final flight at their home base in Suwon, just south of Seoul. One of the aircraft was painted in a jungle camouflage pattern as a symbol of its past paint job.

The adieu ceremony wrapped up with a commemorative flight by F-16, KF-16, FA-50, RF-16, F-15K and F-35A fighter jets, marking the handover of the mission to defend the skies to a new generation of aircraft.

A F-4 Phantom II fighter-bomber takes off for a final flight at its home base in Suwon, just south of Seoul, on June 7, 2024, in this photo provided by the Air Force. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The first batch of the U.S.-made jets arrived in South Korea in 1969, providing a major boost to the Air Force, which sought to beef up its aircraft fleet against threats posed by North Korea’s Soviet-made jets amid a f
ierce rivalry between the two Koreas.

The Air Force once operated some 220 Phantoms, but only around 10 jets were in service recently.

South Korea is currently pushing to deploy the first KF-21 aircraft by 2026 to replace its aging fleet of F-4 and F-5 jets. The homegrown supersonic fighter is expected to play a key role in South Korea’s “three-axis” deterrence system against North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats.

Source: Yonhap News Agency