Photo : Navy / Yonhap
The Navy said Friday that it conducted fleet combat exercises in waters off the western and eastern coasts earlier this week to strengthen combat readiness under various maritime operational conditions.
The drills, which ran from Tuesday to Friday, involved around 20 surface vessels and naval aircraft in a live-maneuver training designed to familiarize naval forces with response procedures tailored to the operational environments and maritime contingencies of each region.
The Second Fleet, in charge of defending the Yellow Sea, carried out maritime counter-special operations forces drills, joint electromagnetic warfare, anti-submarine warfare, counter-drone operations and naval gunnery exercises.
Participating assets included the 76-hundred-ton Aegis-equipped ROKS Yulgok Yi I destroyer, the Eulji Mundeok warship, and the P-3C and P-8A patrol aircraft, as well as the Air Force’s KF-16 fighter and U.S. Forces Korea’s AH-64E Apache attack helicopter.
The Third Fleet conducted similar drills in southern waters and carried out a port defense training at Busan Port, mobilizing the 44-hundred-ton Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin-class destroyer, along with patrol aircraft and naval helicopters.