The Navy said on the 23rd that it plans to acquire a 30,000-ton-class Korean-style manned-unmanned teaming power carrier (MuM-T Carrier) by the late 2030s.
The Navy reported this at a parliamentary audit by the National Defense Committee held at Gyeryongdae in South Chungcheong Province that day. According to the Navy, the Korean-style manned-unmanned teaming power carrier will be equipped with combat unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs; Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), surveillance, reconnaissance, and attack UAVs, and loitering munition UAVs. The Navy's plan is to enhance surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike capabilities and improve the survivability of friendly forces.
The manned-unmanned teaming power carrier, at about 30,000 tons, can carry not only unmanned aircraft but also amphibious maneuver helicopters to project Marine Corps power. Like the Dokdo-class large-deck landing ships, an additional well deck can be added to carry and launch unmanned surface vessels dedicated to reconnaissance and mine warfare and high-speed landing craft. Along with this carrier, the Navy plans to operate the large-deck landing ships Dokdo and Marado as flagships for three maneuver task units.
The Navy said, "The Korean-style manned-unmanned teaming power carrier will serve as a key asset that integrates and commands dispersed manned and unmanned forces across wide seas in real time based on a network."
In his remarks, Chief of Naval Operations Kang Dong-gil emphasized, "To lead the future battlespace and win without fail, we are working to build naval power based on artificial intelligence and advanced science and technology, and we are developing a force structure and operational concepts suited to the future security environment."
The Marine Corps reported a work plan to apply a manned-unmanned teaming combat system to its force structure and transition early to a manned-unmanned teaming combat system by modularizing and expanding the amphibious assault vehicle (KAAV-II) family, and by building up forces of amphibious attack helicopters and high-speed combat boats.