Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship

ROKS Dokdo, in Pacific, during operations with the USS Essex(LHD-2) in November 2007. ROKS Dokdo in November 2007
Class overview
Builders	Hanjin Heavy Industries & Constructions Co
Planned	3
Completed	1
General characteristics
Tonnage	14,300 tons (empty) / 18,800 tons (full)
Length	199 m (653 ft)
Beam	31 m (102 ft)
Draught	7 m (23 ft)
Propulsion	4 S.E.M.T. Pielstick 16 PC2.5 STC Diesel engine
Speed	23 knots (43 km/h) maximum 18 knots (33 km/h) cruising
Boats & landing craft carried	2 LSF-II or LCAC
Capacity	Up to 200 vehicles
Troops	720 marines, 6 tanks, 7 amphibious assault vehicles
Crew	300
Armament	Two Goalkeeper CIWS, One RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile
Aircraft carried	Up to 10 helicopters
Aviation facilities	Flight deck and hanger

The LPX project was the Republic of Korea Navy's new amphibious landing ship project for which Hanjin Heavy Industries has provided the general design package. The ROK Navy's requirements for the new amphibious landing ships were to enhance Korea's current amphibious operation capability, both in terms of assault and military operations other than war (MOOTW) type operations.

On 12 July 2005, ROKS Dokdo (LPH 6111), the lead ship of her class, was launched at the shipyard of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Constructions Co. in Busan. The ship was named after the Dokdo islets (Liancourt Rocks) in the East Sea (Sea of Japan). She was commissioned into the ROK Navy on 3 July 2007.

The first air cushion landing craft (LSF 631) of LSF-II project will be delivered for Dokdo in April, 2007.

First Steps to a Blue Water Navy

In a speech delivered in March 2001, then President Kim Dae Jung stated that his administration was aiming to build a navy that "will defend the national interests in the five oceans and perform a role in defending world peace." By the year 2020, the ROK Navy plans to deploy two or three rapid response fleets, each comprising of 1 LPX, 2 KDX-III, 4 KDX-II, 1 KDX-I and possibly a number of FFX frigates and two or three SSX submarines.

See also: Military of South Korea

ROK Navy's Rapid Response Fleet:

• Dokdo class LPH (Flagship)
• King Sejong the Great class destroyer (KDX-III) Aegis Combat System
• KDX-II
• KDX-I
• Type 214 submarine

Specifications

USN MH-60S is landing on the flight deck of the ROKS Dokdo (LPH 6111).

ROKS Dokdo (LPH 6111) conducts well deck operations with USN LCAC.

LPX is a versatile helicopter ship, and includes a rear flooding deck to accommodate Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV's) and two Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC). The ship is 199 metres long, 31 metres wide, with a 14,000 ton(empty)/18,000 ton (full) displacement.

This LPX is the largest vessel in the South Korean Navy . Previously, the largest ship in the Korean Navy was the 9,000-ton at-sea Underway Replenishment (UNREP) support vessel Cheonji.

As a high-speed amphibious ship, LPX was based on the concept of "over-the-horizon assault." As the name indicates, the "over-the-horizon assault" comprises a military operation in which an amphibious landing operation is conducted with high-speed air-cushioned vehicles and helicopters from beyond the horizon, where they can't be easily detected or attacked by the enemy. The conventional LST (landing ship tank) has to approach the coastline for landing, at the risk of being fired upon by the enemy.

The LPX can carry 720 marines (+300 crew members), 10 tanks, 10 trucks, 7 AAVs, three field artillery pieces, 10 helicopters, and two LCAC hovercrafts capable of landing on enemy shores doing 40 knots (74 km/h)—a mix that enables it to launch troop landings from both sea and air.

Self-defense armament includes the RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile system, meaning that South Korea is one of three countries in the world, after Germany and the United States to own one. The Goalkeeper Close-in weapon system (CIWS) was purchased in January 2003 from Thales, at per-set price of 13,000,000,000 won (roughly $15,000,000).

Semi-Aircraft Carrier

File:ROKS Dokdo 1.jpg

An aerial view of Dokdo

Dokdo is similar (length and beam) and (total displacement) to the Spanish Navy's current aircraft carrier SPS Príncipe de Asturias and the Thai Navy's HTMS Chakri Naruebet. The ship is designed so that it can operate VSTOL aircraft with minimal modification.

If the carrier is equipped with a ski jump board module 15-17 meters in length, VSTOL aircraft such as the Harrier or F-35B could be launched from the deck. Its flight deck is coated with special urethane material to resist heat generated from aircraft engines.

However, the South Korean government denies that the ship will be used as an aircraft carrier; the ROK Navy classifies the ship as LPH (Landing Transport Helicopter).

Alternatively, the Dokdo class could remain a landing platform helicopter (LPH) by deploying the new attack version of the Korea Helicopter Program (KHP) being developed by Korea Aerospace Industries. The KHP program is underway with technical cooperation by EADS but the earlier Korean Multi-role Helicopter / Korean Multi-Purpose Helicopter [KMH] program with Sikorsky Aircraft providing technical cooperation could potentially deploy the future indigenous Korean attack helicopter which will closely resembles the RAH-66 Comanche on the Dokdo class LPH.

Future Plans

Some proposed uses for the ship include UN peacekeeping operations and disaster relief. For this reason, the LP-X is expected to usher in a new era of expanded Korean naval activity, since it can be used for relief, transport, and other peacetime activities.

The ROK Navy has plans to develop another similar ship by 2010. This unit will be named after Marado Island, which is located 11 kilometres offshore from Moseulpo harbor. Marado Island is commonly thought of as being both the ending and beginning point of Korea. Today a monument stands there recognizing it as the southernmost point of the country.

The third unit is to be named after Baengnyeong Island, which is located in the Yellow Sea near the disputed Northern Limit Line (NLL) with North Korea. Baekryeong Island is the territory administered by South Korea that is closest to the NLL. It was an important military base and the site of fierce combat during the Korean War.

External links

• Globalsecurity article on the LP-X
• LPX Doko launching ceremony pictures