The US airforce pilots who practice every day for war with North Korea have sent a terrifying message to the Kim Jong-un regime, amid escalating tensions on the penisula.
The fighter pilot team, nicknamed the wolf pack, have said the elite in Pyongyang would be destroyed within minutes of a direct order.
They also confirmed that the top-ranked fighter jet team “was ready to fight tonight if asked” and could continue to bomb the regime 24 hours of the day if required.
This follows a looming threat of nuclear war between North Korea and the US as the war rhetoric between the two powers continues.
In rare footage, a team from the BBC were able to visit a US airbase in South Korea and join one of the daily F16 war preparation exercises.
Asked whether he had a “daunting task” if war breaks out, Colonel Steve Tiddle said: “Any conflict and especially this conflict is one you don’t want to see, if you can avoid it.
“But if it does come to it, there is not a better fighter wing to deal with the threat at hand than this wing here.”
Colonial David Shoemaker, also a member of the top-ranked wolf pack, added: “I want to be ready.
“I want to send a message of ‘Leave us alone, Don’t mess with us’ – a message of deterrence.
“But, believe me, if you make a mistake of crossing that line, may God have mercy on the wolf pack’s prey.
“Readiness is our currency and we have money in the bank.”
The threat of an all-out war between the US and North Korea has gradually been mounting.
There are several experts, including the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC, who believe the regime’s next missile test could happen at any moment.
Yesterday, Chinese government advisers said China should mobilize resources in preparation for a possible war with the rogue state.
Renmin University professor Shi Yinhong, who also advises the Chinese government, said: “Conditions on the peninsula now make for the biggest risk of war in decades.
“North Korea is a time bomb. We can only delay the explosion, hoping that by delaying it, a time will come to remove the detonator.”
