By Robert Farley*
South Korea has decided to build aircraft carriers. New defense planning documents offer a roadmap for building at least one light carrier by 2030. Some early reports had suggested that the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) would try to refit its Dokdo-class amphibious assault ships to operate F-35Bs. While conceptually possible, this plan would have resulted in small, cramped, unsatisfying ships, and would likely have gutted the ROKN’s amphibious capabilities, the Diplomat reports.
