US stealth fighter jets adding more firepower. Along with its fifth-generation counterpart – the F-22 Raptor – the F-35 is widely considered the most advanced fighter jet in the skies but the US military is planning to upgrade both aircraft with even more firepower and combat capability amid a growing demand for US air power around the world.

The F-22 and F-35 have long been touted as the future of US aerial dominance – the expectation being that the Raptors’s air-to-air combat capabilities will work in concert with the multi-role F-35 advanced long-range sensors to maintain an advantage over emerging competition from foreign rivals like China and Russia.

The US military gave North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a rare sneak peek at its fighter jet of the future this week when four F-35 Joint Strike Fighters equipped with a full payload of live bombs and missiles conducted a training flight over the Korean peninsula.

Both aircraft have flown training missions over the Korean peninsula in recent months despite ongoing efforts to expand their combat capabilities.

Cloaked with the world’s most advanced stealth coating, the F-22 and F-35 would likely be called upon to lead a potential air campaign against North Korea should the situation escalate to the point of using military force.

While the North Korean military maintains capable anti-air ωεɑρσռry, their radar systems would be unable to detect the stealth fighters before a strike on those defensive systems.

While the F-22 Raptor has been involved in combat missions since 2014, the Air Force is planning to equip the fifth-generation aircraft with new missiles, upgraded sensors and perform key maintenance on its special stealth coating.

While the F-22 is currently engaged in the air campaign against ISIS, it has also been deployed to support NATO partners against potential Russian aggression and has been used to intercept foreign aircraft flying too close to the US border.

the strategic deployment of the F-22 could send a similar message as a traditional display of force by aircraft carriers.

the US military is using the combined deployment of the F-35 and F-22 to make a statement in other parts of the world.

And as tensions rise between the US and North Korea, the F-22 will play an important role in potential military strike options.

The F-22 stealth fighter would be a key part of any US preemptive strike on North Korea designed to neutralize the country’s defense and counterattack capabilitie.