South Korea Begins Test flights of F-35 Fighter Jets

South Korea has begun conducting flight tests of the two newly procured F-35A fighters, Air Force officials said Friday.

"We began their flight training exercises in mid-April as scheduled, though the date for their full operational deployment has yet to be decided," an Air Force officer told Yonhap news agency.

The Lockheed Martin fifth-generation fighters were delivered to Seoul during the end of March, this year.

The jets, along with 38 more were a part of a 7.4 trillion won ($6.8 billion) deal signed in 2014 between Washington and Seoul. Close to ten more fighters are expected to be delivered to South Korea in this year, with the remaining jets to be delivered by the end of 2021.