South Korea’s Carrier Program is Aimed Squarely at Japan; New 30,000 Ton Assault Ship with F-35B Stealth Jets Approved

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense has approved plans to develop the  "LPX-II" project - a 30,000 ton aircraft carrying and amphibious assault ship with a comparable role to the U.S. Navy’s heavier 40,000 ton Wasp Class and America Class warships. The Korean platform will reportedly deploy between 16 and 20 Lockheed Martin F-35B stealth fighters - aircraft designed with specialised short takeoff and vertical landing ‘STOVL’ capabilities allowing them to deploy from warships without long runways or arresting gear. The ministry reportedly approved the program following a request made by the Navy, and the warship will be the largest ever built by the country and the second carrier class to enter service. Two of the lighter Dokdo Class warships have also been completed, and displace 18,800 tons each.

While there were initial reports that the Dokdo Class may be modified to carry F-35B fighters, and the Defence Ministry reportedly ordered research to be done into this possibility, difficulties operating the fighters efficiently from such platforms made this unfavourable. South Korea’s military shipbuilding industry is considered among the most cost effective in the world, and costs for the new heavy assault ship are expected to be relatively modest. The Dokdo Class for example, with the same role very similar capabilities and displacement to its French counterpart the Mistral, can be produced at under half the cost. This is despite the Mistral’s production run being 250% larger, which affords French shipbuilders considerable economies of scale which drive down the price per unit.

Where in the past all South Korea’s major defence projects were directed at countering North Korea, the country’s carrier program appears it to be aimed squarely at Japan. The choosing of the name Dokdo, a group of small islets between the two countries, is symbolic considering the ongoing and often heated territorial dispute between the two states. With the new carrier notably approved at a time of escalating tensions between the two states, a similarly symbolic name is also likely to be taken. It is notable that South Korea began to seriously explore options to field F-35 equipped carriers only after Japan announced it would deploy the fighters from its Izumo Class warships. The Izumo is a 27,000 ton light carrier reportedly purpose built to deploy the F-35, and two are currently in service. It is as of yet unclear how many of the new carriers South Korea intends to build, or how many F-35B fighters it intends to acquire, but a Japanese response remains likely. Previous calls in the Japanese government have been made to commission a ‘mothership’ which is expected to be an upper-medium sized aircraft carrier or possibly a supercarrier deploying more capable F-35C fighter jets. South Korea has notably benefitted from integrating Russian air defence technologies onto the Dokdo Class design, and is likely to do so for its new carrier as well. Due to political considerations, Japan is unable to seek out similar technologies for its own existing and upcoming warships.