Maritime patrol aircraft, support ship among Korea's options for Strait of Hormuz mission

As Seoul weighs how to contribute to efforts to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, attention is turning to what military assets Korea could realistically send — and what missions they could perform without drawing the country directly into combat with Iran.

Military experts say maritime surveillance, logistics support and mine-clearing operations could be the most practical roles for Korean forces in the Strait of Hormuz, allowing Seoul to contribute to securing the strategic waterway while limiting the risks of direct involvement in the conflict.

Cheong Wa Dae said Friday that no decision has been made on whether to deploy forces or what assets could be sent, adding that it is considering a range of options, including combat, noncombat and search missions.

Military readiness on the Korean Peninsula is also a key consideration. A Cheong Wa Dae official said Seoul could consider options that would not significantly undermine its readiness posture at home.

Kang Eun-ho, former head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and a professor at Korea Aerospace University’s Graduate School of Aerospace Policy, said Korea should steer clear of direct combat operations and focus on indirect support, such as logistics and mine clearance.

“Direct military support or combat involvement would be going a bit too far. Logistics support or mine-clearing operations would be appropriate,” Kang said, adding that such missions would allow Korea to contribute while taking into account its future relations with Iran and the broader international context.

Shin Jong-woo, secretary general of the Korea Defense & Security Forum, also saw little likelihood of Korean forces entering the narrow strait for direct combat.

“Even if we send maritime patrol aircraft or a support ship, they are not assets that would turn the situation around in the war,” Shin said. “I think the symbolic meaning is greater – that Korea is also taking part.”

Among the assets reportedly being considered are the Navy’s P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and the 11,000-ton fast combat support ship ROKS Soyang.

The Ministry of National Defense, however, said Friday that nothing has been decided.

The P-8A could provide surveillance over a wide area without placing a Korean warship directly in the strait.

Although its primary role is anti-submarine warfare, the aircraft is equipped with radar and electro-optical and infrared sensors for detecting and tracking targets at sea. The Navy operates six P-8As, which entered service in July 2025.

Shin said a P-8A could monitor activity that poses a threat to commercial vessels and pass information gathered from the air to forces operating in the area.

Kang also said the aircraft could be used in a supporting role, although its primary mission is anti-submarine warfare.

Soyang offers another option. The ship is designed to resupply naval vessels with fuel, ammunition and other supplies, allowing them to remain at sea for extended operations.

Kang favored logistics support over sending combat forces, saying it would offer a clearer rationale for Korean participation without putting Korean forces directly into the fighting.

Deploying a support ship, however, could raise another question: how to protect it.

Kang said an escort vessel would be needed to protect a Korean support ship operating in a high-threat environment. That could turn what begins as the deployment of a noncombat support vessel into a larger naval commitment.

Mine clearance emerged as another option supported by both experts.

Kang said mine-clearing operations would have a broader justification because they could protect commercial and other vessels using the waterway, rather than directly supporting attacks against Iran.

Shin said mine clearance could become particularly relevant once fighting subsides. He noted that modern mine countermeasure operations increasingly use unmanned underwater vehicles to locate and remove mines.

“If we send a combat ship, it could be seen in the context of engaging Iran,” Shin said. Given Korea’s diplomatic relations with Iran, he said, mine clearance “would not be a bad option.”

Any overseas deployment would still come at some cost to Korea’s own military posture.

Kang said sending either aircraft or naval vessels abroad would inevitably reduce the assets available for operations around the Korean Peninsula, an issue the government would have to weigh when determining the size and duration of any mission.

Another possible role could arise if the conflict worsens. Shin said Korean naval assets could support the evacuation of Korean nationals from the Middle East, as the Cheonghae Unit has done in previous overseas evacuation operations.

Cheong Wa Dae said discussions have not yet reached the stage of consultations with the National Assembly, emphasizing that the government is still reviewing what form, if any, Korea’s contribution should take.