South Korea's Dokdo-class amphibious assault ships

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South Korea may turn its amphibious assault ships into nascent aircraft carriers—according to a report by the Yonhap News Agency, at least. In a report from late last month, Yonhap claimed that South Korean military officials are considering a plan to reconfigure their fourteen-thousand-ton Dokdo-class amphibious assault ships to carry the F-35B.

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South Korea already has one Dokdo-class ship and is the process of building another one. The lead vessel was launched in 2005 and commissioned in 2007. At the time, South Korea intended to build three ships, but funding constraints caused Seoul to eventually cancel the third—and temporarily, the second one as well, but funding for that one was later restored. The ships displace fourteen thousand tons when empty, but up to eighteen thousand tons when fully equipped. Media reports say the ships can carry up to fifteen helicopters and roughly 720 marines.

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/south-kor...023000059.html

Got curious. Enjoy.
http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/dodko-class/
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The Dokdo Class can carry up to 720 troops, plus a mix of helicopters, tanks/armored vehicles, and wheeled vehicles. Transport to shore is accomplished via landing ships or LCAC hovercraft. The Dokdo Class is only 2/3 the size of Australia’s new Canberra Class, and just over 1/3 the size of the USA’s Wasp Class; but Dokdo is the largest ship in the South Korean Navy.
For defense, they will rely on a combat system from the Samsung Thales Corp. joint venture. It will rely on Thales’ SMART-L long range 3 dimension search radar, with a detection and tracking range of 400 km/ 240 miles. For defensive responses, it can coordinate a SeaRAM guided missile system, 2 Thales “Goalkeeper” 30mm CIWS systems, and various decoying systems. Even so, support from Korea’s frigate-sized KDX-II destroyers and new KDX-III King Sejong Class AEGIS destroyers will be essential.

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https://www.defenseindustrydaily.com...for-rok-03431/

https://www.navyrecognition.com/imag...rea_Sketch.jpg

From 2013 - see also
Asian Carriers By the Numbers
https://news.usni.org/2013/08/29/asi...by-the-numbers

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South Korea is already part of the Joint Strike Fighter program, having decided to buy forty F-35A fighters in 2014 for $6.75 billion. However, that is the conventional version of the fighter jets. By contrast, the F-35Bs have the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) capability that would be necessary to operate the planes from the Dokdo-class ships. Thus, if South Korea decided to move forward with the plan outlined in the Yonhap report, it would have to purchase F-35Bs, along with reconfiguring the amphibious assault ships to carry fixed-wing aircraft.

South Korea has launched its second amphibious assault ship.

On May 14, South Korean officials launched the second Dokdo-class helicopter carrier. The ceremony took place in Busan at the shipyard of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction, the company that built the vessel. Among those in attendance were Defense Minister Song Young-moo and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Um Hyun-seong, according to local news outlets.

Construction of the second Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship, named Marado, began in 2016. The ship will be the second largest ship in the Republic of Korea’s Navy, after the first Dokdo-class ship. Displacing 14,500 tons, the ship has a width of thirty-one meters and a length of 199 meters. The Marado can also sail at speeds approaching forty-one kilometers per hour. According to Yonhap News Agency, “It has a 20-mm Phalanx close-in weapons system, as well, while the Dokdo [the first ship in the class] is installed with the 30-mm Goalkeeper gun.” The Marado will be delivered to the South Korean Navy in late 2020 following testing.

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/navy-firs...141900366.html