The Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy has launched a new fleet command to counter increased threats from North Korea.
The new fleet, headquartered at Jeju Naval Base, on Jeju Island off the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula, integrates 14 warships, including 10 destroyers and four support vessels, according to NK News, an independent and privately owned information source focusing on North Korea.
“The task fleet command will serve as a central unit to deter and respond to North Korean provocations at sea and proactively prepare for emerging threats,” Adm. Yang Yong-mo, chief of naval operations, said during a February 2025 inauguration ceremony.
The fleet comprises 10 Aegis destroyers, and four logistics support ships, according to The Korea Herald newspaper. Plans call for the addition of two more Aegis destroyers of Jeongjo the Great class and six domestically-built destroyers by the mid-2030s.
The Jeongjo the Great destroyer, built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, was delivered to the Navy in November 2024. The destroyer’s Aegis combat system is equipped with multi-function radar antennae with a range of 1,800 kilometers and terminal-phase ballistic missile interceptors.
ROK Navy officials called the command “a core unit of the maritime three-axis system against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.” The three-axis system includes components designed to track, detect and eliminate an adversary’s ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction:
- A kill chain platform to preemptively strike the source of an attack, such as a missile silo.
- The ROK Air and Missile Defense system to intercept incoming missile strikes.
- The ROK Massive Punishment and Retaliation campaign to eliminate the adversary’s command and control (C2) by neutralizing its leadership and military facilities.
The three-axis system was designed following North Korea’s fifth nuclear test in 2016. Capabilities include assets from all three branches of the ROK military, including F-35A fighter jets, reconnaissance satellites, missile interceptors and ballistic missiles. The three-axis system is managed by ROK Strategic Command established by South Korea in September 2024.
Unlike the ROK’s other fleet commands, its new Navy command is designed for flexible operations across maritime regions and will conduct extended operations in broader seas beyond South Korea’s maritime boundaries, to enable more strategic force deployment, the Herald reported.
The new command “will serve as a key strategic unit, safeguarding South Korea’s sovereignty and maritime interests wherever and whenever needed,” said Vice Adm. Kim In-ho, commander of the task fleet command. “In the event of a conflict, we will ensure overwhelming force to secure victory.”
Ships built under South Korea’s $5.5 billion next-generation destroyer project, referred to as KDDX, will be assigned to the new fleet command upon completion, ROK Navy officials said.
The Navy is also slated to receive its first MH-60R Seahawk helicopter in early 2025, the first of 12 Seahawks South Korea ordered to strengthen anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capabilities. The remaining aircraft are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2025 and will enter operations in 2026 after undergoing field tests and other pre-deployment procedures, according to a ROK Navy official.