The USS Boxer, USS Comstock, and USS Harpers Ferry (top to bottom) landing ships enter a naval base in the southeastern port city of Busan on Aug. 26, 2024, to join the 2024 South Korea-U.S. Ssangyong amphibious landing exercise.
SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – In a powerful display of military cooperation, South Korea and the United States have begun their large-scale amphibious landing exercise, known as Ssangyong (Double Dragon), along the southeastern coast of Pohang and the eastern seaboard. The exercise, designed to enhance combat readiness and interoperability between the two allies, runs from Monday through September 7.
U.S. Marines ready for drills in Pohang, 271 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Aug. 25, 2024, as South Korea and the United States are scheduled to begin their Ssangyong (double dragon) amphibious landing exercise this week.
This year’s iteration of Ssangyong will see the deployment of division-level landing forces and a formidable fleet of around 40 vessels. Among them are two South Korean amphibious assault ships, the ROKS Dokdo and ROKS Marado, alongside the USS Boxer, a U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship, according to military officials.
The 14,000-ton USS Boxer enters a naval base in the southeastern port city of Busan on Aug. 26, 2024, to join the 2024 South Korea-U.S. Ssangyong amphibious landing exercise.
The exercise will also feature approximately 40 aircraft, including stealthy F-35B jets, and around 40 amphibious assault vehicles, as noted in a joint statement by the South Korean Navy and Marine Corps.
A U.S. amphibious combat vehicle enters the sea in Pohang, 271 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Aug. 25, 2024, as South Korea and the United States are scheduled to begin their Ssangyong (double dragon) amphibious landing exercise this week.
In a significant development, the allies’ Marine Corps will, for the first time, form a combined staff group to jointly command the landing operations from aboard the ROKS Marado. Additionally, a newly established joint military command specializing in drone operations, launched in September last year, will make its debut in the Ssangyong exercise, conducting surveillance using unmanned aerial vehicles.
The 14,000-ton USS Boxer enters a naval base in the southeastern port city of Busan on Aug. 26, 2024, to join the 2024 South Korea-U.S. Ssangyong amphibious landing exercise.
Britain’s Royal Marines Commandos are also participating, marking their second consecutive year of involvement in the drills.
The exercise is set to culminate in a “decisive action” phase early next month, where the combined forces—comprising troops, landing ships, fighter jets, and helicopters—will showcase their overwhelming capabilities in a full-scale landing operation.
This 2023 file photo shows troops taking part in the Ssangyong (double dragon) exercise, a large-scale amphibious landing exercise between South Korea and the United States. (Yonhap)
The Ssangyong exercise was resumed in March 2023 after a five-year hiatus, having been suspended since 2018 during the Moon Jae-in administration’s efforts to pursue inter-Korean reconciliation. As tensions on the Korean Peninsula rise once more, this year’s exercise underscores the allies’ renewed commitment to readiness and deterrence.
U.S. amphibious combat vehicles enter the in an exercise conducted in Pohang, 271 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Aug. 25, 2024, as South Korea and the United States are scheduled to begin their Ssangyong (double dragon) amphibious landing exercise this week.
Image credit: The South Korea’s Navy and Marine Corps, Yonhap / photonews@koreabizwire.com
