U.S. air force in S. Korea to fly upgraded `tank killer` jets

The U.S. air force in South Korea has added three advanced ground-attack aircraft to its fleet of combat planes, boosting its capabilities to strike hidden North Korean artillery units with guided smart bombs, a U.S. military paper reported Tuesday, according to Yonhap News.

The 25th Fighter Squadron at the Osan Air Base, about 55 kilometers north of Seoul, received this month its first three A-10C jets, an upgraded version of the A-10A aircraft currently operated by the unit, the Stars and Stripes said.

Known as a "tank killer," the A-10 has been a key air asset for the U.S. military in South Korea, along with the F-16 fleet, in deterring a potential North Korean invasion. It has been upgraded since 2005 to the C-model, which started entering the air force inventory in 2007, the military daily said.