ROKAF

The Repulic of Korea Air Force strikes me as a wonderful example of a not overly large, but very capable airforce. Assets include:

64 F-4D Phantom
59 F-4E Phantom
140+ F-16C/D Falcon
39 F-16A Falcon
197 F-5E/F
47 F-5A/B
27 A-37B (perfect for possible terrorist insurgencies from the north)
18 RF-4C (that’s a splendid NTBDA capability)
8 P-3C Orion
24 S-2A/E Tracker
38 Lockheed T-33A
42 Cessna T-37
20 T-28D Trojan (these are GREAT aircraft, i LOVE the sound they make)

Does anyone have any detailed information about the KTX-2/T-50?

Also, what do you guys think would be the best aicraft for the F-X requirement? Main contenders are the Typhoon, Rafale and F-15K (single seat F-15E with the APG-70(V)2 active array set, with possible MLU including F119 from F-22).

Any thoughts on the ROKAF in general? Obviously their main *danger* is North Korea, but with that threat subsiding, could ROKAF take on a more active role in the Asia Pacific theatre, and possibly be used as a staging base and indeed active player should tensions in the Taiwan Strait escalate? Also, Japan has never really been kind to Korea, so does that sort of tension still exist?

MinMiester