Senators press Gates to buy more Super Hornets

[Genetic Defect]

here is some Air Force news:

U.S. to send 12 F-16s to South Korea
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jan 14, 2009 11:53:05 EST

SEOUL, South Korea — The United States will deploy 12 F-16 fighter jets to South Korea to replace a fleet of Apache helicopters bound for Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. and South Korean military officials said Tuesday.

The U.S. had planned to send 12 A-10 attack aircraft to South Korea to temporarily replace 20 Apache attack helicopters headed for redeployment in Iraq and Afghanistan. But two sides changed that plan because of required maintenance for the A-10 aircraft, South Korea’s Defense Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae told reporters.

The F-16s will be in place in March before the Apache helicopters depart to ensure no gap in capability, the U.S military said.

“Due to increased requirements for inspections and repairs to the A-10 fleet, the F-16s will be deployed rotationally to Korea instead of the previously announced A-10 rotation,” the military said in a statement.

Army Gen. Walter Sharp, commander of U.S. forces in Korea, said the deployment of F-16s “will provide an enhanced deterrent capability on the Korean peninsula,” it said.

The U.S. military said it remains committed to the defense of South Korea. Washington has about 28,500 troops in the South as a deterrent against communist North Korea.

The two Koreas technically remain at war because their 1950-53 Korean conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.