Tag: ROK Navy

Facing the U.N. Memorial Cemetery in Busan that honors U.N. troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, crew members of the South Korean Navy’s destroyer Wanggeon observe a minute of silence at a naval base in the port city on Nov. 11, 2016, in this photo provided by the Republic of Korea Fleet Command. Organized by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, the Turn Toward Busan ceremony was simultaneously held in 21 other countries that fought for the South Korean side against invading North Korea under the U.N. flag in the three-year conflict. (Yonhap)

This photo from South Korea’s Navy on Oct. 28, 2016, shows the 2,500-ton frigate Chungbuk that will be sent to the international fleet review at Auckland port in New Zealand. Twelve countries will participate in the fleet review that marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of New Zealand’s navy. (Yonhap)

Any tri-lateral cooperation like this good between the US, ROK and Japan:

The United States, Japan and South Korea will practice detecting and stopping ships carrying weapons of mass destruction during a sea exercise this weekend.

The trilateral exercise comes in light of North Korea’s continued work on its nuclear weapons and missile program, South Korean defense officials told reporters in Seoul on Thursday.

The maritime interdiction operation will be held Saturday and Sunday in international waters south of South Korea’s Jeju Island, Yonhap News reported.

The sea services also will conduct search and rescue exercises aimed at rescuing personnel on disabled ships, the report said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest exercise held between the ROK and the United States to further deter North Korea:

The flight deck of the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier was bustling with sailors and planes Friday to demonstrate air flight operations to dozens of South Korean reporters who arrived on board after an hour-long flight from a U.S. air base near Seoul.

The first thing that greeted reporters was pilots in the cockpits of their Super Hornet fighter jets getting ready to take off and the flight deck crew assisting in the operations in waters some 240 kilometers from Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, and north of Jeju Island.

Before the planned demonstration, Rear Adm. Charles Williams, commander of the carrier battle group of the U.S. 7th Fleet, delivered a short briefing on the ongoing joint exercise between South Korean and U.S. navies amid ever-growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.

“Our operations on the Korean peninsula are part of the ongoing partnership with our Republic of Korea Navy counterparts that has been around for more than 5 decades now. The work we have done with our counterparts has proven to strengthen our alliance,” the flag officer said.

As for the meaning of the combined exercise, Lt. Commander Aaron V. Kakiel, a spokesman for Carrier Strike Group 5, which the nuclear carrier is a part of, said, “This exercise has been planned for a very long time. We’ve been working with our Korean counterparts to exercise our interoperability in this area. It is not a direct response to any (provocative) actions (by any country). It is meant to be training for us to work together for a stronger alliance.”

During the 30-minute demonstration, nine fighter jets took off and 15 fighter jets made landings. Most of the fighter jets were FA-18 Super Hornets. Others were the E-2C Hawk Eye early warning plane and the EA-18G Growler, the fleet’s electronics warfare plane.

U.S. and South Korean navy officials said the joint exercise will further improve interoperability to be fully ready to strike back against any military attacks by North Korea.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Condolences to all the friends and family members impacted by this training accident:

South Korea’s Navy said Tuesday that it had found the body of one of three crew members who were aboard a chopper that crashed into the sea off the country’s east coast a day earlier.

At around 6 p.m., the Navy found the body some 1,030 meters under the sea during its search operation that used a remotely operated underwater vehicle.

The body was confirmed to be the Lynx antisubmarine helicopter’s main pilot, identified only by his surname Kim. Along with Kim, a secondary pilot and a naval non-commissioned officer were aboard the crashed aircraft.

“Lieutenant Kim’s body was found just outside the helicopter, and we are trying now to find the rest of the missing crew,” a Navy official said, declining to be named.

The Navy also said it retrieved parts of the helicopter.

The helicopter sent out a distress signal and disappeared from radar eight minutes after it took off from an Aegis destroyer at 8:57 p.m. for a joint military drill between the South Korean and U.S. navies, a spokesman said in a briefing.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

As North Korea continues to develop its Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) capability South Korea is definitely going to need to acquire this technology in response:

The South Korean military may buy four cutting-edge antisubmarine patrol aircraft in the wake of the successful test-firing of a submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) by North Korea last week, a senior government official told the JoongAng Ilbo Tuesday.

The advanced maritime surveillance aircraft being considered by the military is a Boeing P-8 Poseidon, which costs between 250 billion and 300 billion won ($223 – 268 million) per jet. The U.S. Navy has such aircraft, as do the Indian and Australian navies.

“North Korea is preparing a number of strategic ways to attack the South using its submarine fleet on top of the SLBM development,” said the official, “We are discussing whether to purchase the latest maritime patrol aircraft to detect North Korean submarines to prevent surprise attacks from under water.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

In response to the recent North Korean Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) test, some are advocating for the ROK to develop nuclear powered submarines:

The need for South Korea to possess a nuclear-powered submarine is increasing as the country moves to counter North Korea’s submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) threat, military experts here said Friday.

They are emphasizing the necessity for Seoul to acquire a submarine with far greater endurance than conventional diesel-electric counterparts after North Korea test-fired an SLBM that flew about 500 kilometers earlier this week. This provocation, which is viewed as a “successful” launch, has fueled concerns about technical improvements in the reclusive country’s missile programs that can threaten global security.

Once a submarine goes underwater, it is hard to track. This makes it very difficult to determine when an SLBM will be launched, which can hinder a timely and effective response.

Many observers have said the best way to counter SLBM threats is to pre-emptively attack the missile-armed submarine in the event of an emergency situation.

If an SLBM is capable of carrying a small nuclear warhead, it can pose a formidable threat, as the North would be able to hit targets theoretically from anywhere with little warning, experts said.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but I think the ROK should consider developing nuclear submarines as well as their own advanced SLBM technology to not only put pressure on North Korea, but China as well.  Anti-submarine warfare is something that the Chinese are far behind in and a neighboring country developing their own advanced submarine technology will only further expose this Chinese weakness.  This would put further pressure on China to stop North Korea’s constant provocations against the ROK.

Condolences to the families of these ROK sailors killed this week in what appears to be a horrible accident:

Three South Korean sailors were killed and another seriously injured in an apparent gas explosion Tuesday at a southeastern naval base, military officials said.

The blast occurred about 8:30 a.m. when the men were trying to open the hatch of a midget submarine undergoing repairs at South Korea’s Jinhae naval base, the officials said. The force of the blast tossed one of the sailors into the water.

Military authorities are investigating the cause of the explosion, but it appears to have been an accumulation of gas in the hull, the officials said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

This test may not seem like much, but it is actually pretty significant because for the first time Japanese and South Korean naval ships were working together to share radar data as part of a missile defense exercise:

The US military said the drills, called Pacific Dragon, would enhance the “already strong relationship of all three nations participating”.

No missiles were fired, said the US Third Fleet, but each country tested its Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System and tested communications and data collection.

The Aegis system allows warships to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles while they are still in space, before there is any danger of causing any damage.

North Korea is banned by UN resolutions from any use of ballistic missile technology. [BBC]

You can read more at the link.

The crew members of South Korea’s Aegis-equipped destroyer, the King Sejong the Great, pose aboard the decommissioned USS Missouri in Hawaii on June 17, 2016. The battleship participated in World War II and the Korean War (1950-53). The South Korean Navy dispatched the destroyer to join the U.S.-led multilateral maritime warfare exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) set to be held from June 30 to Aug. 4. (Yonhap)