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>>> South Korea's new hardline on North Korea may mean the end of its plans to build its first aircraft carrier


Business Insider

7-21-22

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/south-koreas-new-hardline-on-north-korea-may-mean-the-end-of-its-plans-to-build-its-first-aircraft-carrier/ar-AAZPP4m?li=BBnb7Kz


South Korea's new president is shifting the country's security focus to threats from North Korea.

That shift, plus other priorities, mean plans for South Korea's first aircraft carrier may be scrapped.

It has been an eventful year for aircraft carriers in the Indo-Pacific region.


China recently launched its newest, most advanced flattop, while India's first domestically built carrier is about to enter service. Japan is also converting its second Izumo-class vessel into a full-fledged carrier, which will add a second flattop to its fleet.

South Korea's navy has expertise and resources on par with those navies, but Seoul's ambitions to field its own aircraft carrier may soon be scrapped.

After years of debate about acquiring a carrier, detailed plans for a South Korean light carrier were unveiled last year. But President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May, looks set to cancel the program, known as CVX, in order to invest in weapons better suited to counter the threat posed by North Korea.

South Korea's navy has been working toward achieving blue-water status since the early 2000s. Over the past two decades, it has transformed into a first-rate navy, acquiring advanced vessels like the Sejong the Great-class destroyers, Son Won-il-class submarines, and Dokdo-class amphibious assault ships.

The CVX program, championed by Yoon's predecessor, Moon Jae-in, was to be the latest step in that transformation. The program calls for the construction of a single light carrier that displaces at least 30,000 tons, carries 20 F-35B fighters, and could be commissioned by 2033.

Two designs have been proposed by Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, both of which have contracts with companies that have built carriers for European navies.

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