The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) on Monday kicked off independent air combat drills along with a small-scale ROK-U.S. combined exercise, drills intended to take the place of the now-suspended joint annual Vigilant Ace major exercise.

The ROKAF’s “consolidated training for combat readiness,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced, would be staged from Monday and Friday.

“Our Air Force will maintain combat readiness through the exercise and enhance mission capability of pilots.”

ROK JCS spokesperson Army Col. Roh Jae-cheon told a news briefing that Seoul had scaled back the exercise, though did not provide further details on what precise