US F-22 fighter jet pulled off runway during exercise

A state-of-the-art US F-22 fighter jet crashed during an air force exercise on the Korean peninsula.

A US Air Force F-22 fighter. Photo: Military

A US Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet suffered a technical problem on December 4 and had to be towed off the runway to a hangar while participating in a large-scale exercise with South Korea, Sputnik reported.

According to a South Korean official, after landing at a base more than 270 km from Seoul at 8:00 a.m., the F-22 Raptor was unable to move from the middle of the runway.

The US military said the joint air exercise Vigilant Ace aims to enhance combat readiness and ensure peace and security on the Korean peninsula.

Vigilant Ace featured six F-22 fighters alongside F-35s, making it the largest exercise involving fifth-generation fighters between the two countries.

The drills come less than a week after North Korea announced a successful test of its Hwasong-15 ballistic missile, which could reach the entire US. North Korea accused US President Donald Trump of raising tensions and warned that Vigilant Ace would push tensions on the Korean peninsula to “conflict”.

Earlier, on December 2, North Korea's state news agency KCNA quoted a spokesman for the country's Foreign Ministry as saying that the Trump administration "is begging for nuclear war with an extremely dangerous nuclear gamble on the Korean peninsula."

According to VNE