Seongnam Style
Seongnam, Sinchonri, K-16, or Seoul Air Base – whatever you call it, it’s the same fascinating airfield. In 2022, I took a bucket-list trip to the base in search of its fascinating residents.
Located only 12 miles from central Seoul, Seongnam Air Base is home to a varied fleet with a few stand-out stars. Operated by the 296th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron are a handful of RC-800 and Falcon 2000 SIGINT aircraft. These grey ‘bizjets’ sport all manner of bumps and antennae for monitoring North Korean state and military communications. The Republic of Korea Air Force’s VIP fleet, the 257th Special Flight Squadron, is also based at Seongnam, with a variety of types including the B747-8, B737-3Z8, CN235-220, VCH-92, VH-60P and, the clear star, the HS-748-2A/248.
Day one of the trip to Korea was spent at Seongnam, and we were certainly finding our feet. We felt uncomfortable alongside the base, cameras firmly in our bags until the last minute and very conscious that security would be on high alert due to the country’s volatile neighbours. However, after an hour or two of patiently waiting in a public park adjacent to the airfield, we were greeted with the distant drone of a Rolls-Royce Dart engine, which grew louder as the aircraft taxied into view and lined up on Runway 19. What a start.
A return visit later in the week saw us scale a large hill overlooking the base, just in time for a 747-8 to depart and for a returning RC-800 SIGINT aircraft to enter the circuit for a short while. It was only once we had returned to the UK that we were informed the hill was a very risky spotting location, with base authorities keeping a sharp eye out for anyone venturing up there to photograph the airfield and its movements.
With a north-to-south runway, some exploration was required to find a position for the afternoon recoveries. A local park proved to be the perfect spot to catch based Hercs and RC-800s once again hitting the circuit on return from their respective sorties. CASAs are not usually particularly interesting, but we were delighted to catch the return of a based VIP CN235 in some cracking autumn evening light.
With the HS-748 ticked off, and the ISTAR and VIP fleet safely in the bag, we left Seongnam with smiles on our faces. Korea's fast jet bases promised a complete gear change, although few could match the variety of Seongnam
