ROKAF F-4E's

With the recent retirement of the RF-4C’s, and the slightly more distance retirement of the F-4D fleet a few years back, the F-4E would appear to be the final holdout for the F-4 series in ROKAF service. I thought it might be fun to generate a little light discussion on their status now, and what, if any improvements they have received. It’s no secret that they are next on the chopping block when the F-X program finally gets the replacement, but until that time comes, they will be around just a bit longer. I’m assuming at this point they are used primarily in the air-to-ground role as a backup to the F-15K & F-16 fleets, but the against the North they would still seem to provide a credible capability to the ROKAF. (Am I wrong?)

As far as I understand it, the ROKAF F-4E’s have only received limited upgrades in the form of the AGM-142 Popeye missile, and perhaps a few other minor items. The photograph below would appear to show some type of ECM pod…is that an Israeli pod of some sort?

If anyone has any interesting photos of ROKAF F-4E’s please share them.

Hope to get a decent discussion going on!