US 'Mini Aircraft Carrier' Arrives in Busan

Participation in the Hanmi Combined Amphibious Landing Exercise Ssangryong Training

The USS Makin Island (LHD-8, approximately 42,000 tons), a U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship known as a "small aircraft carrier," arrived at the Busan operational base on the 22nd.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the military on that day, the Makin Island will participate in the Korea-U.S. joint amphibious landing exercise "Ssangryong Exercise," held from the 20th of this month to the 3rd of next month around Pohang, Gyeongbuk. It is reported that this is the first time the Makin Island has entered Korea and participated in the exercise. The Makin Island, a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship of the U.S. Navy, can carry about 1,600 landing marines and approximately 2,800 personnel, and can accommodate up to 20 F-35B vertical takeoff and landing stealth fighters.

Its displacement and the scale of aircraft it can carry are evaluated to be comparable to those of aircraft carriers from other countries. The Wasp-class's lead ship was commissioned in the 1980s, and the Makin Island was commissioned in 2009, making it the newest ship in the Wasp-class.

The Makin Island will participate in the Ssangryong Exercise alongside the Navy's large transport ship Dokdo (LPH, approximately 14,500 tons). Prior to arriving in Busan, it conducted a "landing maneuver unit escort operation" with the South Korean Navy off the coast of Pohang, Gyeongbuk, the day before. This Ssangryong Exercise is being conducted for the first time in five years since 2018, and for the first time, it has been expanded to a division-level scale and is being carried out extensively.

More than 70 aircraft, including F-35 series fighters, Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, and Marine Corps Marineon landing maneuver helicopters, as well as over 50 landing assault armored vehicles (KAAV), will participate in the exercise. Additionally, about 40 personnel from one company of the British Royal Marines Commandos, a United Nations Command troop-contributing country, will participate for the first time, while Australia, France, and the Philippines will observe.