By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
BUSAN ― President Lee Myung-bak Tuesday reviewed a fleet of over 50 warships from the South Korean Navy and 12 other nations during an international fleet review in the waters off Busan.
The Navy's Operations Command will allow citizens to visit domestic and foreign naval ships, Wednesday and Thursday.
President Lee set sail around 3 p.m. onboard the 4,500-ton KDX-II Ganggamchan destroyer, alongside the 14,000-ton Dokdo landing ship carrying 1,600 people, including 600 selected ``citizen observers,'' VIPs and journalists to review a fleet of warships and aircraft
A fleet of 19 South Korean warships and submarines, led by the 7,600-ton KDX-III Sejong the Great Aegis destroyer, demonstrated their maritime maneuvers, flanked by a fleet of 30 aircraft and helicopters, before being inspected by the head of state.
Warships on display included 3,200-ton KDX-I destroyers equipped with ship-to-ship/ship-to-air guided missiles and torpedoes, a 1,800-ton Type-214 submarine, two 1,200-ton Type-209 submarines, 3,000-ton maritime police patrol ships, 1,600-ton frigates and 1,100-ton littoral patrol ships.
The fleet of aircraft included P-3C maritime patrol aircraft, Lynx anti-submarine helicopters, UH-60 attack helicopters and Russian-made Kamov helicopters of the maritime police used in search and rescue missions. Three F-15K fighters of the Air Force conducted a ceremonial flight.
President Lee saluted the sailors when their ships passed by the flagship.
After the inspection of domestic vessels, Lee's destroyer sailed towards 20 foreign warships from the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, China, Canada, Singapore and Thailand.
Among the high-profile foreign warships was the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier the USS George Washington, the destroyer Suzunami (DD-114) from Japan and the Russian Navy's guided missile cruiser Varyag (CG-011).
At the end of the naval festivity, the Korean vessels conducted ship-to-air, ship-to-ship and anti-submarine live-fire demonstrations. They also demonstrated simulated amphibious landing and anti-terror operations, in which some 10,000 sailors and Marines participated.
The naval festival opened Sunday for a five-day run in commemoration of the 60th founding anniversary of the nation's armed forces.
The fleet review is a naval event in which a head of state reviews the country's fleet before a war or for a simple show of strength. The review is a British naval tradition dating back more than 600 years. This review went with the modern trend of inviting foreign warships.
On the sidelines of the fleet review, a seminar for naval chiefs and representatives from 24 nations will take place at the Paradise Hotel Wednesday.
The Navy launched its first of three planned 7,600-ton KDX-III Aegis-equipped destroyers, a step toward developing a blue-water capability.
The Aegis Combat System built by Lockheed Martin of the U.S. is the world's premier surface-to-air/fire-control system, capable of simultaneous operations against aircraft, ballistic and cruise missiles, ships and submarines.
The ship's SPY-1D radar can track some 1,000 aircraft within a 500-kilomete radius simultaneously, providing full-360 degree coverage.
Only a few countries such as the United States, Japan, Spain and Norway have Aegis ships.
``The fleet review offered an opportunity for the South Korean Navy to open a new era with Aegis destroyers and promote its increasing strength and global status matching those of naval powers around the world,'' said Capt. Han Chang-soo, chief of the fleet review organization committee.