Japan's Self-Defense Forces F-15 fighter jets (top and bottom) conduct an air exercise with U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers flying from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, in the skies above the East China Sea, Japan, in this photo released by the Air Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan September 9, 2017. Air Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan/HANDOUT via REUTERS
Christine Kim & David Brunnstrom, Reuters: North Korea's bark may be worse than bite in threat to shoot down U.S. bombers
SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea has threatened to shoot down U.S. bombers flying near the Korean peninsula, but it would have difficulty matching its words with action given aging air defense systems mostly dating to the Cold War, military experts said.
In intensifying rhetoric between the United States and North Korea during the past week, President Donald Trump said the U.S. would “destroy” the country if it threatened the U.S. or its allies. Pyongyang’s foreign minister Ri Yong Ho responded that Trump had “declared war” and North Korea reserved the right to take countermeasures, including shooting down U.S. bombers, even if they were not in its air space.
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Update: Could North Korea Really Shoot Down a U.S. F-15 or B-1 Bomber? (Dave Majumdar, National Interest).
WNU Editor: The North Koreans have done it before .... The Last Time North Korea Shot Down A U.S. Military Plane It Almost Led To Nuclear War. But that incident happened over 45 years ago .... we live in a very different military age today. How different .... I am sure that if a North Korean fighter approaches a U.S./Japanese/South Korean military plane today .... it will probably be met with lethal force before it is even in range. So will North Korean try anyway .... and create sn incident .... I would not put that past them.
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