SEOUL - Combined forces of South Korea and the United States plan to hold the joint air force exercises for two weeks to beef up their combined defense capability, the South Korean Air Force said Friday.

The first round of "Max Thunder" drill kicks off from Friday, scheduled to run until April 24, the Air Force said in a statement.

The first round will mobilize about 100 warplanes and some 1,400 soldiers from the two countries. The exercise is held twice a year on the Korean Peninsula to simulate air battles with enemy forces through realistic training. This year, it will be conducted three times.

Among them would be some 550 South Korean soldiers and 50 fighter jets, including F-15K, KF-16, F-4E, F-5, C-130 and E-737. The country-developed FA-50 light attack warplane would join the drill for the first time.

The US Air Force will mobilize some 850 troops and 50 fighter jets, including F-16, F-15, FA-18 and EA-18 as well as AWACS, or an early warning aircraft.

The air simulation exercise would come as part of the ongoing "Foal Eagle" field training exercise, which kicked off on March 2 and would last until April 24.

The "Key Resolve" command post exercise, the other part of joint annual war games between Washington and Seoul, ended on March 13.