The Air Force will conduct a large-scale aerial exercise amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula resulting from North Korea’s preparations for another nuclear test and a series of missile provocations by Pyongyang.

The Soaring Eagle exercise is scheduled to be held from Monday through Friday at the 29th Tactical Fighter Weapons Group in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.

Some 200 troops and 70 aircraft are set to take part in the exercise, including F-35A stealth aircraft and a wide range of fighter jets, including F-15Ks, F-16s and FA-50s in addition to KA-1 airfield control aircraft and CN-235 transport aircraft.

The drill will apply various scenarios, including responding to a massive infiltration by enemy forces in the air, as well as detecting and intercepting the enemy’s air and space capacities.

The Soaring Eagle exercise will be held publicly for the first time in five years.

The Air Force had conducted the drill out of the public eye since 2018, when South-North ties saw a pause in tensions with the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and inter-Korean summits.

Observers say that with the aerial exercise, the Air Force is aiming to send a warning to the North for raising tensions in the region through active preparations for another nuclear test and continued missile provocations.