US uses stealth fighters in aircraft carrier exercise off Korean Peninsula

Seoul, Apr 13 (EFE).- The United States army deployed state-of-the-art stealth fighters in exercises by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier together with the Japanese navy in waters near the Korean peninsula, a show of military might in a moment of tension in the region.

The US Seventh Fleet, part of the Pacific Fleet, posted photos and videos Wednesday on its Facebook page of the maneuvers, something the Japanese Defense Ministry did hours later.

The Abraham Lincoln is seen accompanied by Japanese Navy destroyers and the deployment of F-18 and F-35 fighters, as well as an E-2 Hawkeye early warning aircraft.

North Korea considers the deployment of these fourth and fifth generation stealth fighters (especially the F-35, the more advanced of the two) a real threat to its territory. Pyongyang has been carrying out repeated weapons tests and could soon conduct a nuclear test, satellites show.

Pyongyang has been preparing a large-scale military parade to celebrate on Apr. 15 the 110th anniversary of the birth of its founder in which it could exhibit new weapons. Meanwhile, Seoul and Washington began joint preliminary spring maneuvers.

The allies are scheduled to begin Monday their Combined Command Post Training, a computer-simulated exercise that this year could be accompanied by the deployment of military assets on the ground.

The Abraham Lincoln shipment to the region appears to be in response to North Korea’s record 12 projectile launches this year, including that of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The last time the US deployed similar aircraft carriers off the peninsula was in 2017, a year of heightened tensions in which the regime launched three such missiles. EFE

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