Assembly work has begun on the ROKS Marado (LPH-6112), the second Dokdo-class Landing Platform Helicopter (LPH) amphibious assault ship of the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN), whose launch in 2020 will finally realize the ROKN's goal of having two powerful Rapid Response Fleets.

The Dokdo-class LPHs are the largest warships in the ROKN and can be considered light aircraft carriers on account of their huge size. This warship can carry over 700 men of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps; 300 crew members; 10 tanks; 10 trucks; 7 Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs); three field artillery pieces and two Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) hovercraft.

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The keel-laying ceremony for the ROKS Marado was held last week at the shipbuilding facility of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction (HHIC) in Busan. Construction work began in 2016 with a steel-cutting ceremony held in November.

ROKS Marado is set to be delivered to the ROKN in 2020, said the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). Commissioning of the warship into the ROKN is expected by 2022.

DAPA said the Marado will feature improvements and upgrades based on experience gained in operating the first Dokdo-class LPH, the ROKS Dokdo (LPH-6111).

One of the upgrades to the Marado will be the construction of a ski ramp on its flight deck to enable the operation of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II short/vertical take-off and landing (SVTOL) stealth fighters. Only the U.S. Marines currently operates this variant of the F-35.

The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) in 2014 ordered 40 F-35A stealth jets, the Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) variant. Initial deliveries of these jets to ROKAF will begin in 2018 and conclude in 2021.

The commissioning of the Marado will cap the two decades-long campaign to transform the ROKN into a true Blue Water Navy. The Dokdo-class LPHs are the only missing pieces in the ROKN's plan to operate two Rapid Response Fleets capable of projecting South Korean naval power anywhere in the world.

As envisioned, an ROKN Rapid Response Fleet will consist of one Dokdo-class LPH; Sejong the Great-class Aegis Combat System guided missile destroyers; Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin-class multi-purpose destroyers; Gwanggaeto the Great-class destroyers and Type 214 diesel-electric submarines.