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The ROKS Marado, a landing platform helicopter (LPH) ship with a standard displacement of 14,500 tons, was commissioned Monday as the second Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship, the largest warship class in the South Korean Navy.

The ROKS Marado, a landing platform helicopter (LPH) ship with a standard displacement of 14,500 tons, was commissioned Monday as the second Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship, the largest warship class in the South Korean Navy.

Its arrival provides a key platform for the takeoff and landing of the Osprey, the US Marines’ leading transport helicopters. In addition to signaling the deepening of the South Korea-US alliance’s military integration, it also raises the risk of South Korea being forced into a difficult strategic decision if a clash erupts between the US and China around Taiwan or elsewhere in the Korean Peninsula’s vicinity.

The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) announced Monday morning that a commissioning ceremony for the Marado was held on the vessel’s flight deck while it was at anchor at the naval port in Jinhae.

During the ceremony that day, Navy Chief of Operations Adm. Boo Suk-jong said that the Marado would “perform various roles as a multipurpose joint forces platform, while serving alongside the ROKS Dokdo as a guide for the construction of a Korean model of light aircraft carrier.”

The commissioning of the Marado as the second Dokdo-class ship comes 14 years after the Dokdo was first integrated. It is expected to play a pivotal role in beefing up the ROKN’s capabilities and achieving progress in integrating forces with the US.

As if to bear this out, the ROKN said in a press release that day that “flight deck and side ramp reinforcements [during the Marado’s construction] improved aircraft takeoff, landing, and transport capabilities.”

“In the case of the flight deck, the material was changed from high-tensile to ultrahigh-tensile steel, allowing for the takeoff and landing of US Osprey vertical takeoff and landing aircraft,” it added, referring to the latest model of transport aircraft used by the US Marines.

The side ramp is the portal used during movements of crew members and major equipment such as tanks.

The changes would enable the Marado to serve as a base for rear support to the US Marines — including fuel, ammunition, and food — in the event of a clash between the US and China around Taiwan or other areas near the Korean Peninsula.

The Marado is expected to serve as a de facto prototype and “contribute to the ROKN acquiring knowledge and capabilities about light aircraft carrier operation” for the Korean model of light aircraft carrier, which the Moon Jae-in administration announced plans to complete by 2033.

The ROKN plans to build a light aircraft carrier at the 30,000-ton level — twice as large as the Marado — and use it for the operation of fifth-generation fighter aircraft with advanced stealth and vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. This means that the carrier could be used for takeoff and landing not only by South Korea but also by F-35B aircraft belonging to the US Marines and Japan.

In the event of an unforeseen clash between the US and China around Taiwan or elsewhere, the US could demand that South Korea share an important role in responding as an ally with the Marado and the future light aircraft carrier.

Scheduled for operational deployment in October, the Marado measures 199.4 meters in length and 31.4 meters in height, with a maximum speed of 23 knots (26.4 mph) and a crew of 330.

The Marado is scheduled to be deployed at Jeju Naval Base, where it will serve as a command and control ship for the mobile fleet in charge of the ROKN’s overseas activities.

Three-dimensional rotating search radar based on domestic research and development has been included to improve on the Dokdo’s detection range and target update rate. As in the Aegis-class destroyer, four-sided fixed air surveillance radar has been included to reduce detection error and boost target discrimination capabilities.

For defense purposes, the ship also included the Haegung, a domestically produced vertically launched guided missile for defense against anti-ship missiles.

By Gil Yun-hyung, staff reporter

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