guardians of the sea
Force
Report Republic of Korea Navy Part 2
MrityunjoyMazumdarandTet s u yaKakitanicompletetheirreviewofthenavalaviation
force oftheRepublicofKoreaNav y.A
Seoul’s
guardian
Seoul’s
guardian
80 // September 2019 #378 http://www.airforcesmonthly.comA
ll potential aircrew trainees
for the Republic of Korea
Navy (ROKN) – pilots
and other aircrew – start with a
sea survival course lasting three
weeks at Pohang, where the naval
aviation arm is headquartered.
Those selected to become
rotary-wing pilots begin basic
flying training with the 1st Flight
Training Squadron at the 609
Education and Training Unit.
This 16-week phase includes
55 hours on the Alouette III. The
next step is advanced flying
training lasting 12 weeks, with
31 hours on UH-1H and Lynx
helicopters. This is followed by a
co-pilot qualification course with
operational units; its duration
depends on the helicopter type.
Typically, this phase lasts ten
weeks with 23 hours for UH-1H
pilots, 11 weeks with 40 hours
for Lynx pilots and 14 weeks with
43 hours for UH-60 pilots. This
phase is thought to also include
combat readiness training (CRT)on specific helicopter types.
Those selected to become
fixed-wing pilots undergo initial
and basic flying training with the
ROK Air Force at Sacheon. Initial
flying training takes place at the
55th Training Group (and 212
Flight Squadron) at the ROKAF
Academy, also in Sacheon. This
phase lasts 11 weeks with 16
hours flying time. The Ilyushin
T-103 was used for introductory
flying training until May last year,
when the type was withdrawn
from use after 13 years of active
service. The replacement is the
locally produced KT-100, which
began entering operational service
in late 2016 and early 2017. Basic
flying training takes place with
the ROKAF’s 3rd Flying Training
Wing and its squadrons – again
at Sacheon. This phase of flying
training lasts 35 weeks with 76
hours on the KT-1 Woongbi.
The next step is a co-pilots’
course on naval aircraft in two
phases: the first lasts 16 weekswith 23 hours on the Caravan II
and the second 19 weeks with
21 hours on the P-3 Orion. These
qualified co-pilots – both rotary
and fixed wing – then serve in
this role for several years to
accumulate flight hours before
taking over as the lead pilot
(plane captain), provided they
pass certain qualifying exams
and remain medically fit.
The first female pilot in the ROKN
was Lieutenant Yang Jin-jin, who
qualified as a Lynx co-pilot in
2005, becoming a plane captain in- The first female Orion pilot
to fly an operational mission was
Lieutenant Lee Ji-yeon, co-piloting
a P-3C in May 2011 – although
by 2009, female officers and also
non-commissioned officers were
navigators and mission controllers
aboard the Orion aircraft.
Airborne tactical officers
(TACCO) undergo their basic
tactical operators course lasting
18 weeks and 25 flight hours on
the Caravan II, P-3 and Lynx.
The next step is an operations
controller course of 14 weeks’
duration, including 34 hours on
the P-3. This is followed by a
P-3 TACCO course lasting 18
weeks with 52 flight hours.
There is no TACCO aboard the
Lynx or Wildcat, which have a
crew of two pilots and a sensor
operator for anti-submarine
and anti-surface warfare (ASW/
ASuW) operators. One of the
pilots performs the role of
TACCO on these helicopters.
Air traffic controllers scheduled
for deployment to the 66
Base Group complete a ten-
week elementary air traffic
controllers’ course and then
another ten weeks of advanced
training with the ROKAF.
Aircraft maintainers and weapon/
electronics technicians undergo
ten weeks of initial technical
training at the National Air
Training Center (NATC), followed
by specialised training modules.
Those in line for air operations and80-84 ROKNPart AFM Sep2019.indd 80 8/5/2019 3:38:42 PM