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.   An F-35B begins its short takeoff from the USS America with an external weapons load.Lockheed Martin While North Korea  feverishly works to perfect intercontinental ballistic missile technology , the US and its allies are putting the finishing touches on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter that will soon be patrolling the Pacific. Japan and South Korea, the US's principal allies the region, will both deploy over 100 F-35s by 2021,  according to Aviation Week . This follows the US choosing Japan as the site of its first-ever deployment of operational F-35Bs, which are  particularly well-suited  to combat in the Pacific region. The F-35, with its stealth characteristics and ability to improve the performance of the legacy jets it flies with, presents technical challenges that even the world's best air forces can't yet overcome. Against North Korea's rudimentary air force and air defenses, the F-35 would dominate and lead South Korean, Japanese, and US legacy fighter je

U.S. Army soldiers install their missile defense system called Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, at a golf course in Seongju, South Korea,  The  second North Korean test launch  of an ICBM within four weeks should convince South Korea to allow deployment of a full THAAD anti-missile battery, the Pentagon said Monday. South Korea has permitted the U.S.  Army  to install two Terminal High Altitude Area Defense launchers on a former golf course south of Seoul, but South Korean President Moon Jae-in has delayed placement  of a full battery of six launchers pending an environmental study that has no timeline. The Pentagon maintained that North Korea’s test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile last Friday, following on a similar test launch July 4, had altered the security calculus on the peninsula and made the case for immediate deployment of the full THAAD battery. “A lot of people question the need for THAAD; they question the requirement for us,”  Navy  Capt.

  After  another North Korean missile launch  on Friday, the US and South Korean military responded by holding a joint missile exercise "to exercise assets countering North Korea's missile launch," a joint statement read. The exercise utilized the Army's Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and South Korea's Hyunmoo Missile II - which were said to be capable of rapidly deploying in order to provide "deep-strike precision capability." The missiles were also said to have been  fired  into the East Sea, where North Korea's latest missile was also rumored to have landed. ATACMS missiles can carry a 500-pound high-explosive warhead and can travel up to a distance of 186 miles. The newest provocation from North Korea appeared to demonstrate the country's advances in its missile program, given that the latest missile was estimated to be capable of reaching major US cities, such as New York and Washington, D.C.,  according to experts . President Donald

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches the test of a new-type anti-aircraft guided weapon system organised by the Academy of National Defence Science in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) May 28, 2017. KCNA/via          North Korea fired a missile on Friday in an unusual late-night test launch, and details announced by Japanese officials and media suggested it could be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The launch from North Korea's northern Jangang province took place at 11:41 p.m. (1441 GMT), an official at South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The U.S. Defense Department confirmed the launch, saying it was making further assessments.       "As a result of their launches of ICBM-level missiles, this clearly shows the threat to our nation's safety is severe and real," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that the North Korean

file photo, a man watches a TV news program showing a file image of a missile launch conducted by North Korea, at the Seoul Railway Station  The Defense Intelligence Agency now estimates that North Korea could have an ICBM with a nuclear warhead capable of hitting the U.S. mainland by next year, The Washington Post  reported  Tuesday. The estimate by the DIA significantly shortened the timeframe for when North Korea could develop the technology for miniaturizing a nuclear warhead to fit atop an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) and survive re-entry into the atmosphere. Previous estimates said that North Korea was at least three years away from having the capability. The new confidential assessment by the DIA followed  the July 4 missile test  that North Korea claimed was an ICBM. U.S. Pacific Command initially said the missile appeared to be of intermediate range but later concluded that it had the range of an ICBM capable of hitting Alaska. The DIA’s conclusion was that

Hawaii's  Emergency Management Agency released  an ominous statement on how to survive and proceed in the event of a nuclear attack. Citizens of Hawaii are advised to look out for emergency sirens, alerts, wireless notifications, or flashes of "brilliant white light" that will indicate that a nuclear detonation is incoming or underway. From there, the agency instructs citizens to get indoors, stay indoors, and stay tuned via radio as "cell phone, television, radio and internet services will be severely disrupted or unavailable." Instead, expect only local radio stations to survive and function. If indoors, citizens should avoid windows. If driving, citizens should pull off the road to allow emergency vehicles access to population centers. Once inside, Hawaiians should not leave home until instructed to or for two full weeks, as dangerous nuclear fallout could sicken or kill them. Read the full release below: