The Ship Model Forum

Korea's New Amphibious Assault Ship Set for Launch
(Source: Yonhap; published May 14, 2018)

South Korea's new 14,500-ton amphibious assault ship will make its public debut Monday, boasting improved combat and radar systems using the country's own technology, the state arms agency said.

Defense Minister Song Young-moo plans to host the launch ceremony for the Marado ship at the shipyard of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. in Busan in the afternoon, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

The minister's wife Koo Ja-jeong is scheduled to cut the rope tethering the vessel with a hand axe in a symbolic tradition for the ceremonial launch of a naval ship.

Named after the nation's southernmost island, it will be the South Korean Navy's second large-scale transport ship after the Dokdo of the same class.

(...SNIPPED)

South Korea changes mission for its newly launched assault ship
By: Jeff Jeong   3 hours ago

SEOUL, South Korea ― The South Korean Navy launched its second 14,500-ton Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship on May 14 as the landing vessel’s mission shifts more toward blue-water operations than countering North Korea, whose relations with the South has been improving following the April 27 cross-border summit.

Built by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction, the Landing Platform Helicopter, named after Marado ― South Korea’s southernmost island ― features improved design and defense systems compared to those aboard the Dokdo ship commissioned in 2007, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, or DAPA.

(...SNIPPED)