The 431st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron was activated for the primary time since WW2 at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, to function MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial automobiles.
82 years after it was first shaped, a ceremony held on Sept. 28, 2025 noticed the 431st Expeditionary Squadron reactivated into the U.S. Air Drive. A tenant unit of Kunsan Air Base’s eighth Fighter Wing, which already boasts two squadrons of F-16s, the 431st ERS will develop into the primary unit completely based mostly in South Korea to function the MQ-9 Reaper.
Although principally identified for its strike functionality, the deployment of the MQ-9 Reaper to South Korea brings a potent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance functionality. Alongside the Reaper’s built-in electro-optical/infrared digital camera turret and AN/APY-8 Lynx multi-mode radar, a wide selection of further sensor payloads might be fitted with conformal mounts or as podded models. Particulars are solely accessible for a small variety of these payloads, with new undisclosed sorts being recognized frequently.
Together with the Reaper’s distinctive endurance – stretching to over 24 hours constantly airborne with no full weapon load – these sensors permit a particularly persistent ISR presence to be maintained over areas of curiosity. For Kunsan’s Reapers, this functionality will clearly be focused on the border between South Korea – formally the Republic of Korea – and North Korea, or the Democratic Folks’s Republic of Korea. Dividing the Korean peninsula in two, the 160 mile lengthy land border is sure on each side by the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
No navy exercise is formally permitted on this zone, except for the guards posted to the Joint Safety Space (JSA) the place the 2 nations can have interaction in cross-border talks, however ISR plane flying simply outdoors of this buffer zone are simply in a position to gather intelligence of assorted sorts from the opposite facet. U.S. and South Korean navy plane are a close to fixed presence in these skies, with plane sorts concerned together with U.S. RC-135W/V Rivet Joints and P-8A Poseidons, and South Korean E-7A Peace Eyes and RQ-4B International Hawks. U.S. Military RC-12 Guardrail turboprop plane had been additionally a daily sight within the space up till their withdrawal on the finish of July 2025. The introduction of MQ-9 Reapers will virtually definitely assist to chase up any shortfall left by the Guardrail’s retirement.
Republic of Korea RQ-4B International HawkRepublic of Korea E-7 Peace EyeUS Air Drive RC-135V Rivet Joint
quantity of ISR over South Korea at this time pic.twitter.com/02WLYdowaO
— Zaes (@ZaesADSB) March 4, 2024
Captain Ryan Jayawardena, Director of Operations for the 431st ERS, mentioned “It’s an honor to write down the following chapter, facet by facet with our Korean allies. Activating the 431st displays our shared dedication, arduous work, and the energy of an alliance prepared for at this time’s challenges.”
The primary commanding officer of the reactivated squadron is Lieutenant Colonel Douglas J. Slater. “Deploying the MQ-9 brings a strong functionality to the area,” commented the Lt Col. “We’re right here to help the mission, deepen cooperation, and show our shared dedication to sustaining safety and stability throughout the Indo-Pacific.”
Kunsan beforehand supported short-term MQ-9 Reaper operations throughout Train Freedom Flag 24-1, held within the latter half of 2024.
Upkeep personnel standby earlier than a US Air Drive MQ-9 Reaper takes off in help of Freedom Flag 24-1 at Kunsan Air Base in South Korea on Oct. 30.
Freedom Flag 24-1 is a large-scale tactical air power train between US and allied companions. pic.twitter.com/M3i5v1rcz6
— Ryan Chan 陳家翹 (@ryankakiuchan) November 1, 2024
Historical past of the 431st
The 431st was first activated in 1943 because the 431st Fighter Squadron, working Lockheed P-38J Lightnings in a long-range bomber escort function from Australia. The squadron relocated a number of occasions in the course of the Second World Battle as frontlines shifted, and finally following the give up of Japanese forces the squadron moved to Seoul, South Korea, now working P-51 Mustangs. In 1949, the squadron started its first interval of inactivity after a number of years assigned to bases in Japan. Shifting to the US, the 431st was reactivated in 1952 as an air defence fighter squadron geared up with F-86 Sabres.
P-38 “Pudgy V” of the US 431st Fighter Squadron at Dulag airfield on Leyte Island, Philippines, 1944. #WW2 pic.twitter.com/65qKpOsQBy
— WWII Footage (@WWIIpix) March 30, 2020
From the mid to late Nineteen Fifties, the squadron operated over Europe and North Africa. Shifting again to North America within the mid Sixties, the squadron traded in its F-102 Delta Daggers for the brand new F-4C, after which F-4D Phantom II. The squadron’s main function throughout this time was coaching pilots for onward deployment to abroad theatres, in addition to international pilots from the numerous air forces who had chosen to acquire the Phantom II.
The unit’s subsequent, and final manned, plane improve was to the F-111 Aardvark, which it flew from McClellan Air Drive Base, California. This time the 431st was a Take a look at & Analysis squadron, working on this function for 12 years till it was wound up in 1992.
