Korean F-4 Phantoms say goodbye

The fleet of F-4 Phantom fighters of the Republic of Korea Air Force flew for the last time and fired their Popeye missiles for the the last time in their final exercise last month.

The vintage fighter which first flew in 1958 is being succeeded fifth generation Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters and Korean-built FA-50 and KF-21 fighters.

The Israeli Rafael AGM-142 Popeye missiles mounted on F-4 Phantoms were the weapon of choice for the ROKAF for targets in North Korea. With the F-4 retired, those missiles no longer have an aircraft from which they could be deployed.

The Phantom II was initially developed for the defence of U.S. Navy warships and the model for the U.S. Air Force — the F-4C, came much later in 1963.

It remained in production until 1979 by which time over 5,000 aircraft had been built for various countries.

The F-4 Phantom has served in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force, besides the air forces of eleven other countries. While Greece still operates the F-4 fighters, the fleet will eventually be retired, with newer French Rafale and F-35 aircraft entering service. Turkey, which was kicked out of the F-35 program for insisting on acquiring the Russian S-400 air defence system, and has only recently managed approval for additional F-16 fighters from the U.S., is stuck with the F-4 for the time being. The only other country still operating F-4 Phantoms is the Islamic Republic of Iran. And while Russia is expected to deliver the Sukhoi-35 to Iran, it is not clear if this will allow Iran to retire its F-4 fighters.