First of all, the recently launched Aegis does not have the ability to intercept ballistic missiles. Unlike the Japanese, the Koreans have opted not to equip their ship for BMD.

As for the mission of the destroyer, let’s look over the possibilities. According to the Korean media and military sites, the KD-3 class Aegis class destroyers will provide long-range air defence for the battle group of the Strategic Mobile Fleet.

I find the above mission statement a bit ambigious and fanciful. The battlegroup in question will consist of the Dokdo, 2 KD-3s and 4 KD-2s. That’s seven ships. Not counting the logistical requirements, it will be very expensive for the ROKN to regularly deploy the entire battlegroup. So my guess is, once a year, for a month or two it will tool around Asia just for show. Or it may never deploy at all. Let’s face it there are currently no missions that will require deployment of the entire group.

Which leaves us with the possibility of the KD-3 deploying overseas in support of the USN. But in reality, with the exception of going to Hawaii for the RIMPAC exercises and taking naval cadets on training cruises, I doubt the destroyer will be deploying overseas on any actual operations.

Which leaves us with two possibilities;

1. The ship becomes a white elephant, and remains tied up in port like the Thai aircraft carrier

2. It spends its time tooling around Korean waters like an oversized and overarmed coast guard cutter.

Which brings us to your theory. Yes, as stated above, there is a possibility that the destroyer will become an expensive radar picket, tooling around the seas of Korea, feeding its radar data via data link to the Naval Command Center and the MCRC. A big waste for something that cost one billion dollars.

Which brings us to this question. If the main purpose of this ship is to carry out radar picket missions and pretty much show off in front of the Chinese and Japanese, then isn’t it much cheaper and better to spend the 3 billions or so on weapon systems that matter the most?

The AP reporter seems to go out of his way to not name the body of water, using the circumlocution twice. Call it the Sea of Japan, which everyone knows, and be spammed by the VANKers. Call it East Sea and leave the readers wondering east of what?

But Mr. Chang shall not get off easily. It should have been The sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan.

I suppose (assuming fully operational status)that the ship can maintain a radar watch 360 degrees — but surely the combat information center of the ship will have to be “focused” on one particular “threat” area.

What do you suppose the instructions will be to the captain of the ship from the ROK naval staff? I mean in secret, aside from public political posturing.

Being a stranger to Asia and Korea (other than thru these blogs), I’m find myself subject to a truly uncertain sense of wonderment. Will the ROK Navy actually expend precious resources maintaining a combat radar watch with a readiness to fire towards Japan — 24/7/365?

Will the ROK Navy patrol an Aegis cruiser in the “East Sea” during some future period of tension between US/Japan and DPRK, with the North Koreans once again conducting “missile tests”? Will both sides be left to wonder as to which side the ROK Aegis cruiser is prepared to track and fire upon?

I don’t know the mechanics of Aegis interceptor missile fire. Can the ROK Aegis missile system successfully intercept a Scud missile trajectory “from the side”, or does it have to be a more or less “head-on” shot?

Or laugh about it as Canadians do about the Hans Island dispute with Danemark (some, possibly poking fun at Korea’s ‘outpost’ on Dokdo, have said that Canada should build a Tim Horton’s on the island to serve as proof of its Canadianess).

Because this is a perceptive bunch. The way many Koreans in general carry on about Dokdo is symptomatic of much larger issues than a couple of rocks — issue that relate directly to the international relations of NE Asia.

If ROK citizens don’t wanted to be mocked about Dokdo, but its retention is deemed vital to the national interest, then they should just hang on to it while keeping quiet about the issue.

Every time I see a rock, I feel this evil impulse inside me……’ tomojiro

‘OK, that was pretty funny.’ robert

why do you ridicule koreans about dokto? surely someone who has the kind of knowledge you do about korea would know this is about more than just two rocks in the ocean. koreans can’t ignore japan’s claim to korean territory. you know what happened the last time korea did that, right?

South Korea’s new fancy ships have set sail? How long do you figure it will take before North Korea throws us another curve ball?

Not long, apparently.