The Republic of Korea’s (ROK) armed forces trace their origin to 1948. The force came of age on the battlefields of the Korean War of 1950 to 1953. Since the 1953 ceasefire the ROK has been building what is acknowledged to be one of the world’s best trained and equipped militaries.
Beyond this the country and its military have pursued an economic and defence policy hand in hand that together have seen it evolve into a leading developer and growing supplier of the most advanced weapons, platforms and subsystems for land, air and naval use. Despite the threat from its northern Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) neighbour, the ROK has become a regional power with intent to take on a larger global role.
Reform 2020
The ROK’s President Moon Jae-in, elected in May, has laid out a direction for defence emphasising self-reliance with priority given to modernising and transforming the ROK armed forces. The Defence Reform Plan 2020 (DRP-2020) was actually initiated in 2006 by then President Roh Moo-hyun when current President Moon served as his chief of staff. The key tenet of DRP-2020 is to transform the ROK military into a smaller, yet more capable, force. It places increased emphasis on improved equipment and greater application of manoeuvre and technology. An objective of the reform is a new strategic approach to the DPRK, as well as for a larger international engagement by the ROK and its military. The former is the adoption of a new doctrine of “Proactive Deterrence” that provides for “prompt, focused and proportional retaliation against (DPRK) attacks”. It is intended that the assurance of active response will cause the DPRK’s leadership to reconsider aggressive actions.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 2017 من Asian Military Review.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 2017 من Asian Military Review.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
SMART MUNITIONS INCREASE MARKET SHARE
Top attack munitions are now widely developed for different artillery calibers with varied ranges.
NEXT GEN NVGS - A CLEAR IMPROVEMENT
Fused and enhanced night-vision technology will make the difference to soldiers fighting at night.
MILITARY ROTORCRAFT DEVELOPMENT - NO MORE ‘STOVEPIPES'
New rotorcraft are going to come with new abilities founded on open systems that provide easier upgrade paths and cheaper through life costs.
INDO PACIFIC UAV DIRECTORY 2021
The development of unmanned aerial vehicles is growing apace, especially in China. New longer range ISR platforms are also on the procurement list of several nations.
TIME TO RESET TRILATERAL RELATIONS
United States President Joe Biden has made it a top priority of his Administration to repair and re-energize global alliances during its first year in power. This is a necessary strategic and political calculus made in light of growing global security, public health, and environmental challenges that will require cooperation and multilateral contributions. President Trump’s ‘America first’ policy did much to undermine confidence in such relationships over his time in office.
SOCPAC KEEN TO SHARE JOINT DOCTRINE AND TRAINING
The return of Great Power competition means that US SOCPAC is more than ever seeking joint training opportunities with regional special forces.
MARINE ENGINE POWER - NOT JUST ABOUT KNOTS
Navies not only want more engine power, there are also coming under increasing pressure to become environmentally conscious.
AMPHIBIOUS FORCES
New amphibious concepts are re-shaping marine forces to break the A2AD defensive line.
SPACE V AIRBORNE ISR OR MIX AND MATCH
Owning satellite based ISR for military use is still an exclusive ‘club’, but airborne ISR still provides that most countries need.
SHIPBUILDING - A NUMBERS GAME
While experience grows among Indo-Pacific naval designers, order numbers remain crucial to keeping costs down and yards in business.
