South Korea lays hands on first of its F-35A jets

ANKARA

Two U.S.-made F-35A fighter jets have arrived in South Korea as part of a 10-plane delivery plan for 2019, local media said.

According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, the Air Force received the two stealth fighter aircraft at an airbase in Cheongju, around 140 kilometers south of the capital Seoul on Friday, with eight more coming until the end of this year.

"[South Korea] joined the ranks of Asia's few radar-evading warplane operators," Yonhap quoted Seoul's Defense Acquisition Program Administration as saying.

In a 2014 deal, Seoul paid $6.5 billion to get 40 F-35As through 2021.

The two F-35A fighter jets departed from the U.S.'s Luke Air Force Base in Arizona last Friday and landed around local time at the airbase after making several stopovers for refueling, Yonhap said.

Yonhap said South Korea was planning to publicly introduce the aircraft at a ceremony next month.