F-35A fighters made 172 emergency landings, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, citing the member of the ruling People Power Party, Shin Won-sik, adding that in another 62 cases the planes could not complete their tasks due to technical problems.
Grounded aircraft were able to carry out their missions for 12 days on average last year and 11 days in the first half of 2022.
According to the news agency, older South Korean F-4E and F-5 fighters made only 26 and 28 forced landings, respectively, in 18 months.
However, the South Korean air force said that there are no problems with the combat readiness of the F-35A since they fulfill their target operation rate of 75%.
In January, South Korea purchased and deployed 40 F-35A fighter jets manufactured by US military-industrial giant Lockheed Martin.