ROK Air Force Equipment
The air force possesses approximately 63,000 troops and about 740 aircraft including F-16s [up from about 700 aircraft in 1990]. All of these aircraft were produced in the United States, with the exception of sixty-eight Northrop F-5E/Fs that were coproduced with Korean Air. As of 1990 the 294 Northrop F-5s and 36 General Dynamics F16C /Ds were the primary ground attack aircraft. Approximately 130 McDonnell Douglas F-4s were deployed as of 1990 for air defense but were equally useful in ground attack. All three types of aircraft were capable of being used in either role, depending on their armament.
| SYSTEMS | Inventory | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2002 | 2005 | 2010 | ||
| FIGHTER | |||||||
| F-16 | 46 | 60 | 160 | 153 | 153 | 153 | |
| F-5 | 204 | 195 | 195 | 185 | 185 | 185 | |
| F-4 | 128 | 130 | 130 | 130 | 130 | 130 | |
| COIN | |||||||
| A-37B | 23 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | |
| T-28D | 6 | ||||||
| FAC | |||||||
| O-1A | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | |
| O-2A | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | |
| OA-37B | 25 | ||||||
| RECCE | |||||||
| RF-4C | 27 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | |
| RF-5A | 10 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |
| Hawker 800RA | 3 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| ELINT/SIGINT | |||||||
| Hawker 800XP | 7 | 7 | 7 | ||||
| SAR | |||||||
| UH-1B | 15 | 15 | |||||
| UH-1H/N | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | ||
| Bell-212 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | ||
| TRANSPORT | |||||||
| AIRCRAFT | |||||||
| BAe 748 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| Boeing 737-300 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| C-54 | 9 | ||||||
| C-118 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| C-123J/K | 10 | ||||||
| Commander | 3 | ||||||
| C-130H | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | |
| CN-235M/-220 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 20 | ||
| HELICOPTERS | |||||||
| Bell-412 | 3 | 3 | |||||
| UH-1D | 5 | ||||||
| UH-1H/N | 5 | 6 | |||||
| CH-47 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | ||
| AS-332 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ||
| VH-60 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ||
| TRAINING | |||||||
| F-5B | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | |
| F-5F | 35 | ||||||
| T-33A | 25 | ||||||
| T-37 | 40 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | |
| T-38 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | |||
| T-41D/B | 20 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | |
| Hawk MK-67 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | ||
| UAV | |||||||
| Searcher | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |||
| Harpy | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | |||
| MISSILES | |||||||
| ASM | |||||||
| AGM-65A Maverick | + | + | + | + | + | + | |
| AGM-88 HARM | + | + | + | + | + | ||
| AGM-130 | + | + | + | + | |||
| AGM-142 | + | + | + | + | |||
| AAM | |||||||
| AIM-7 Sparrow | + | + | + | + | + | + | |
| AIM-9 Sidewinder | + | + | + | + | + | + | |
| AIM-120 AMRAAM | + | + | + | + | + | ||
| SAM | |||||||
| Nike Hercules | + | + | |||||
| I Hawk | + | + | |||||
| Javelin | + | + | |||||
| Mistral | + | + | |||||
