12
May
Seoul, May 12 (IANS) The South Korea Air Force on Friday kicked off a regular large-scale exercise to bolster its combat capabilities and ensure the country's defence posture. The eight-day Soaring Eagle exercise began at an air base in Cheongju, 112 kilometre south of Seoul, amid tensions on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of North Korea's firing of a purported solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile last month. The exercise mobilises more than 160 personnel and nearly 60 warplanes, including F-35A stealth fighters, F-15Ks, KF-16s and KC-330 tanker transport aircraft, according to the Air Force, Yonhap news agency reported. It will take…