Competition kindled for Korea’s controversial carrier
HHI is offering the ROK Navy a CVX design, one fitted with a ski jump. (HHI)
An as-yet-unapproved light carrier, and an indigenous close-in weapon system (CIWS), grabbed the headlines at South Korea’s MADEX naval exhibition.
Even though the programme does not yet have the approval to proceed, two prospective shipbuilders are vying for the opportunity to design and build a light aircraft carrier for the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN).
Both Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) were out in force at the MADEX naval exhibition in Busan from 9-12 June, showing scale models of their respective designs for the nascent CV eXperimental (CVX) programme.
Both companies took different design approaches for this vessel, once referred to as the LPX-II and originally conceived as a follow-on to the Dokdo class
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