As reported by South Korean media, 22 Feb 2021 South Korean Ministry of national defense and the office for defence procurement (Defense Acquisition Program Administration - DAPA) held 133rd meeting of the joint Committee on programmes defence procurement (Committee Banjo), which had approved the program of development and construction for the Navy of South Korea in the period 2022-2033 years of the first light aircraft carrier under the designation CVX. In this project, the previously approved program for the construction of a new large aircraft carrier universal landing ship LPH-II was transformed.
Preliminary design image of the promising South Korean light aircraft carrier CVX (c) of the South Korean Navy
Recall that the program of construction by the end of the 2020s for the South Korean fleet of a large aircraft carrier universal landing ship (UDC) of the new LPH-II project was approved by the top military leadership of South Korea in July 2019. To date, South Korea has already built two UDC related to the LPH-I project - LPH 6111 Dokdo (commissioned by the South Korean Navy in 2007) and LPH 6112 Marado (since May 2019 and is still being tested). Planned for construction in 2019, the third UDC of the LPH-II project was to have a standard displacement of about 30 thousand tons - twice as much as the Dokdo-type ships (14.5 thousand tons).
From the very beginning, it was planned that the LPH-II would be a full-fledged aircraft carrier with an air group of up to 16 fighters with a shortened takeoff and a vertical landing of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II, and for their takeoff, the ship was originally planned to be equipped with a springboard. Later, however, it became known that the advance design of the ship is being processed in the direction of strengthening the "aircraft carrier" component and as a result, it is now officially transformed into a light aircraft carrier CVX.
It is reported that the standard displacement of the ship will be about 30 thousand tons, and the air group will consist of 20 F-35B fighters and eight helicopters. Preliminary images show the ship without a springboard and with the now fashionable "two-island" superstructure.
The launch of the aircraft carrier is scheduled for 2033. The cost of designing and building the CVX aircraft carrier was approved by the Advanced Defense Projects Committee at 2.03 trillion won ($1.87 billion). In addition, about 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion) should be allocated for the purchase of an air group for the ship. The cost of operating the ship is expected to be 200 billion won ($180 million) per year.
It should be noted that these ambitious plans have yet to be approved by the South Korean government and parliament. In 2020, the South Korean National Assembly, when considering the defense budget for fiscal year 2021, reduced the planned allocation for R & D under the LPH-II program from the requested 10.1 billion won ($91 million) to just 100 million (that is, by 99%) won due to "lack of a clear justification for the project".
"Concept image" of the future South Korean carrier force led by the promising light aircraft carrier CVX (c) of the South Korean Navy
Infographic of the promising South Korean light aircraft carrier CVX (c) www.facebook.com/ROKArmedForces
