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Navy stages largest-ever fleet exercise to test new Task Fleet Command

Published: 11 Nov. 2025, 12:56 Updated: 11 Nov. 2025, 16:31

The ROKS Yulgok Yi I and other Aegis-built destroyers are seen during a naval fleet exercise of the Korean Navy's Task Fleet Command near the waters of Pohang, North Gyeongsang, on Nov. 10. [KOREAN NAVY]

POHANG, North Gyeongsang — Korea’s navy staged its largest-ever fleet exercise off Pohang on Monday morning — firing 127-millimeter (50-inch) live rounds from three Aegis destroyers and practicing multiship air defense and escort maneuvers — as the new ROKN Task Fleet Command tested its readiness amid regional missile activity.

At 11:40 a.m., about 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) off the eastern coast of Pohang, North Gyeongsang, the Korean Navy’s 7,600-ton class Aegis-built Sejong the Great-class destroyer ROKS Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong fired its main gun over the deep blue waters.

The deafening boom of the cannon was so strong that reporters standing on the wing bridge were able to feel the vibrations. Fifteen shell casings from 127-millimeter rounds clattered across the deck seconds later.

This marked the beginning of the first full-scale fleet-level training exercise conducted by the Navy’s newly launched Task Fleet Command, its most elite combat unit.

The Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong led the formation, followed by the 7,600-ton Sejong the Great-class ROKS Yulgok Yi I and the 4,400-ton Chungmugong Yi Sun-shin-class destroyers ROKS Wang Geon and ROKS Gang Gam-chan, all simultaneously firing on targets located 8 kilometers due east. Roughly 60 rounds struck the designated targets.

The three-day training began on Sunday and runs through Tuesday in the East and South Seas, day and night, to evaluate the operational capabilities of the Task Fleet Command established in February, according to the Navy.

Of the four Aegis-built Sejong the Great-class destroyers currently in service, three — the Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong, Yulgok Yi I and the new 8,200-ton ROKS Jeongjo the Great — participated in the drill.

The Jeongjo the Great, though not yet formally commissioned, joined ahead of its scheduled deployment early next month. Only ROKS Sejong the Great did not participate, as it is on active duty.

The scale of this training is unprecedented in Navy history: three Aegis-built destroyers, two additional destroyers and two logistics support ships (the 4,200-ton Cheonji-class ROKS Cheonji and ROKS Daecheong) for a total of seven warships.

Though the timing coincided with the Navy's 80th anniversary — the service was established on Nov. 11, 1945 — the drill also served as a strategic warning to North Korea, which launched a short-range ballistic missile targeting the Korean Peninsula on Friday.

The Task Fleet Command plans to conduct similar fleet-level exercises annually moving forward.

Reporters arrived on board the Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong earlier that morning via a UH-60 maritime helicopter. Tension was evident among the crew.

“Adjust the heading on that ship. It’s getting too close,” came a voice over the internal communications system.

That afternoon, Rear Adm. Kim In-ho, the commander of the Task Fleet Command, stood on deck and issued commands through the ship’s tactical network. The drill included a coordinated maneuver in which all seven vessels quickly formed a diamond shape.

The Aegis destroyers and regular destroyers encircled the logistics support ships — a standard U.S. Navy carrier strike group formation used to protect an aircraft carrier. The Navy is reportedly preparing for the 30,000-ton Korean-style manned and unmanned strategic carrier, expected to be inducted in the late 2030s.

Should Korea acquire nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs), they would also likely be assigned to the Task Fleet Command.

A simulated combat exercise was also held inside Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong’s combat information center, during which a North Korean aircraft crossed the Northern Limit Line and rapidly moved southward.

When the virtual enemy fired several antiship guided missiles, operators launched pairs of SM-2 surface-to-air missiles on the captain's order, successfully intercepting both the aircraft and incoming missiles.

Unlike Korea’s 1st, 2nd and 3rd fleet commands, the Task Fleet Command does not operate within a specific regional jurisdiction. Instead, it can be deployed across all theaters, both in peacetime and wartime, to flexibly control core assets like the Aegis destroyers.

The fleet plays a key role in Korea’s missile defense strategy, as well as the “kill chain,” or the pre-emptive strike system designed to detect and neutralize signs of aggression from Pyongyang, and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation system. Once SSNs are acquired, the Task Fleet Command is also expected to assume a leading role in Korea’s pre-emptive strike capabilities.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE YU-JUNG [[email protected]]