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    The Korean aircraft carrier project returns to the scene with the on-board KF-21N

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    The new administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol seemed to be laying down an ambitious light aircraft carrier project. This was evidenced by the removal of the program funding from next year’s budget draft. The aircraft carrier lobby is holding tight, however, tempting the domestic industry and dusting off old ideas for building a larger ship.

    The Yoon administration was skeptical about the idea of ​​building the aircraft carrier CVX, and Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop, before taking office, announced that the project would be analyzed in terms of the needs of the armed forces, national interests and cost / effect relations. The money saved in this way was to be used for systems more needed in the confrontation with North Korea and China: anti-missile defense, unmanned systems and submarines.

    The CVX program, as it turns out, has many supporters. General Kim Seung-kyum, chief of the joint staffs, told the parliamentary defense committee that the aircraft carrier was not included in the draft budget because the military wanted more time to carefully revalue the assumptions made to better fit the potential assumptions. General Kim also recalled the approval of the program by a joint staffs committee. The suggestion seems clear: there is no turning back, CVX will rise.

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    Importantly, it was unequivocally stated that it is again possible to build a medium carrier, i.e. according to South Korean criteria – with a displacement of over 60,000 tons. The concept of such a ship appeared in the media in the fall of 2019. It assumed an aircraft carrier with a displacement of 71,400 tons and a length of 298 meters. The air group was to consist of thirty-two planes and eight helicopters. It was the first time that a unit with two superstructures, inspired by Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers, appeared. Contrary to British ships, the South Korean design instead had a two-axis (oblique) flight deck.

    The idea of ​​a medium carrier was originally rejected as too expensive. In its current incarnation, the CVX will displace nearly 40,000 tons, be 265 meters long and 40 meters wide. The air wing consists of sixteen F-35B and eight helicopters. Seoul has been probing the possibility of purchasing Lightning II in the STOVL version for several years, but there is no binding decision yet. Also in the light aircraft carrier variant, the project provides for two superstructures, one of which is to receive a mast designed for destroyers KDDX integrated with AESA radar. The radar is to be able to detect ballistic missiles, which suggests the possibility of including the aircraft carrier in the anti-missile defense system.

    Interestingly, the CVX is to be armed with the naval version of the K-SAAM medium-range anti-aircraft system. This is a very unusual solution, found only in Soviet aircraft carrier projects. Even in the Chinese aircraft carriers originating from Admiral Kuznetsov, the anti-aircraft armament has been limited to short-range systems (but the new Indian carrier Vikrant, for example, has a Barak 8 missile launcher). The armament of the CVX is to be supplemented by domestic production direct defense kits and a decoy anti-torpedo system.

    But even the cost of building a low-cost light aircraft carrier is estimated at $ 2 billion. The operation of the ship is expected to cost the South Korean taxpayer about $ 45 million a year. So why the sudden return to the medium carrier idea?

    On-board KF-21

    General Kim, in his speech before the defense committee, indicated that there are votes in favor of developing an on-board fighter on his own. The only candidate is the KF-21 Boramae, flown in July this year, and this one cannot take off and land vertically. For this reason, a larger ship is to be needed.

    The word partly became flesh when KAI presented the KF-21N model at the DX Korea trade fair on September 22nd. Visible changes compared to the land version are limited to folding wings and hook. The on-board fighter is also to be slightly larger. According to the information obtained by Naval News, at the current stage, the project involves extending the fuselage from 16.9 meters to 17.1 meters and the span from 11.2 meters to 12.3 meters.

    KAI is to advise the navy not to develop a two-seater version. It is also not known whether the KF-21N will take off with a catapult (CATOBAR) or a starting hill (STOBAR). It all depends on the final design of the carrier. Both solutions have advantages and disadvantages. CATOBAR allows take-off of aircraft with greater mass. This not only means more fuel and weapons, but also opens the way for the use of in-flight early warning aircraft such as the E-2 Hawkeye. Catapults, on the other hand, increase the cost of the ship. If Koreans would like to use electromagnetic catapults, the only solution available is the American EMALS. This, in turn, would probably require arduous negotiations with Washington, although it would still be cheaper than developing everything from scratch on your own.

    Choosing STOBAR would mean a relatively small change to the design in the form of the starting hill. The price for this is the lower take-off weight of the planes. However, the hill was never popular with the South Korean Navy, even despite the likely involvement of the British in the CVX project. Over the years, the preferred solution was the classic flight deck and the F-35B. With the arrival of the KF-21N, the idea of ​​buying American machines was apparently left aside. On the other hand, the announcement that Boramae is not planning a vertical take-off and landing version makes the “CATOBAR or STOBAR” issue first-rate.

    The development of a vertical take-off and landing aircraft is a serious challenge, so it is not surprising that the Koreans do not have such ambitions. It is possible that the idea of ​​an on-board version of the KF-21 is to attract KAI to the aircraft carrier lobby. The navy’s demand would also increase the size of the potential order. This does not necessarily mean a reduction in the unit price. One ship does not generate a large demand for planes, even if several squadrons will be based on it in rotation. In addition, on-board fighters are more expensive due to specialized equipment.

    However, another variant must be taken into account. Perhaps the talks on the acquisition of the F-35B are not going well for Seoul, or the Americans do not want to share the technology of building an air deck adapted to support vertical take-off and landing machines. Coatings that can withstand high-temperature exhaust gases are the most important here. In this way, the US may signal that it considers the South Korean carrier project unnecessary.

    The actions that shape Washington’s purchases of allies are particularly visible in Asia. The forces of the local allies are to complement the American potential in the event of a war with China. While in the case of Japan the integration of the armed forces is far advanced, and the interests, and thus the strategic and operational assumptions, are convergent, in the case of Taiwan there is already a fierce discussion. Washington believes the island needs to put more emphasis on asymmetric measures, Taipei agrees in principle, but does not want to abandon the purchase of conventional systems such as tanks and warplanes.

    See also: TikTok in the hands of soldiers threatens US national security

    the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea

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