Dolsando-class helicopter carrier
| File:CVH Dolsando empty.png MHJ Dolsando as the ship appeared in 2015.
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Dolsando class |
| Builders: | Taekchŏn South Shipyard, Gyŏngsan |
| Operators: |
 Menghe |
| Preceded by: | none |
| Built: | 2008-present |
| In commission: | 2011-present |
| Planned: | 9 |
| Building: | 2 |
| Completed: | 7 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Helicopter carrier |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: |
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| Beam: |
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| Draught: |
list error: <br /> list (help) 6.96 m to keel, full load 9.45 m including sonar bulge |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 32 knots |
| Range: | 8000 nautical miles (15,000 kilometers) at 15 kts |
| Complement: |
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| Sensors and processing systems: |
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| Electronic warfare & decoys: |
list error: <br /> list (help) 4x J-250 ECM |
| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: |
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The Dolsando-class helicopter carriers (Menghean: 돌산도급 직승기 모함 / 突山島級直升機母艦, Dolsando-gŭb Jiksŭnggi-Moham) are a group of helicopter carriers designed and built in Menghe. They are the only Menghean ships to bear the indigenous hull classification MHJ (Moham, Jiksŭnggi). Unlike many other helicopter carriers, they are not LHDs, in that they lack a well deck and are not designed to transport troops. Instead, their primary role is blue-water anti-submarine warfare, and they are more clearly classified as ASW carriers.
As of June 2017, four Dolsando-class helicopter carriers have been built for the Menghean Navy, which is still awaiting delivery of two more. An additional three have been exported to Maracaibo.
Design and development
Work on what would become the Dolsando-class began in 2006, around the same time the MHH Sibiwŏl Hyŏgmyŏng entered service. It was primarily motivated by the need to conduct blue-water anti-submarine patrols, with the aim of keeping hostile attack submarines out of the South Menghe Sea.
Early in its development, there was disagreement about whether the new ship should double as a landing helicopter dock for amphibious assaults. Proponents of this idea argued that it would bring greater multifunctionality to the class, making them useful in coastal warfare against Innominada, while opponents favored greater specialization in the anti-submarine role with a separate class of amphibious assault ships. In the end, the latter faction won out, and the first ASW-focused hull was laid down in 2008.
As a result, the Dolsando-class are unique among Septentrion's helicopter carriers in that they lack a well deck and are not designed to transport landing craft. Instead, the stern is taken up by a large towed sonar array, the same type later mounted on the new Chŏnro-Dong class cruisers. The class also has a sleeker hull and a larger powerplant than other helicopter carriers. When all four of its gas turbines are running at full power, it is able to reach a top speed of 32 knots, allowing it greater flexibility in reacting to unexpected threats.
Defensive armament
Apart from their air wing, carriers of the Dolsando-class are only lightly armed, in part because they are not intended to confront enemy surface fleets or coastal defenses. Defensive anti-air armament consists of two six-barrel 30mm CIWS guns, both forward on port and starboard. Standard Menghean CIWS of the GBM-30/6 designation, they are remotely controlled from fire-control radars on the island, and can switch to a camera-aimed mode with a lower rate of fire to engage small surface combatants. Additional anti-air and anti-missile defense comes in the form of two eight-box launchers for the YDG-61H SAM system. At the longest ranges, the ship can rely on four J-250 ECM systems to jam the radar seekers of incoming missiles.
Further aft, the Dolsando-class carry two RBDJ-34/8 anti-submarine rocket projectors, similar to the type used on the Sibiwŏl Hyŏgmyŏng class aircraft carriers. Each mount has a magazine with 48 rounds, usually a combination of softkill and hardkill countermeasures to protect the ship from incoming torpedoes. Other anti-submarine countermeasures include a towed sonar decoy and the ship's own helicopters.
Air wing
"Maximum" figures for the Dolsando-class carrier's air wing vary, though they generally fall in the range of 12 tiltrotors or 20 small helicopters. The "standard" anti-submarine warfare airwing consists of a mix of the two, with ten D-8A ASW tiltrotors, four GHJ-28B ASW helicopters, and two GHJ-28D search-and-rescue helicopters. The latter would be used to rescue downed aircrews or assist with maritime search-and-rescue operations in peacetime.
The Dolsando-class carriers are designed so that all aircraft can be stored inside the sealed hangar, shielding them in the event of stormy conditions and allowing the maximum use of deck space for takeoff, landing, and re-arming operations. Some sources claim that the Dolsando-class carriers can take on eight or more additional GHJ-28B helicopters for high-intensity operations by parking them on the forward and aft areas of the flight deck, but this does not appear to be standard practice.
In 2016, MHJ Daemado was seen with GHJ-36 gyrodynes practicing takeoffs and landings from its deck, suggesting that the class may be used for coastal attack operations in the future. Menghean Navy sources maintain that these were training exercises only, and that the Dolsando class are still specialized around a defensive ASW role.
Ships in class
As of June 2017, there are four Dolsando-class helicopter carriers in service with the Menghean Navy. Two more are under construction: the MHJ Wŏlmido (月尾島), which was recently launched from its drydock, and the MHJ Boando (寶安島), which is in fitting-out and should be delivered in 2018. The latter caused some controversy when its planned name was leaked, as it was named for an island which is officially part of Altagracia.
In Menghean service, helicopter carriers of the Dolsando-class are named after islands (島/도), and thus share the "-do" suffix.
| Hull number | Name | Gomun | Sinmun | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MHJ-78 | Dolsando | 突山島 | 돌산도 | 18 March 2008 | 5 January 2010 | 3 August 2011 |
| MHJ-80 | Ilsŏngdo | 日成島 | 일성도 | 19 September 2009 | 8 July 2011 | 27 April 2013 |
| MHJ-81 | Daemado | 對馬島 | 대마도 | 12 April 2012 | 11 September 2013 | 9 February 2015 |
| MHJ-82 | Haejungdo | 海中島 | 해중도 | 11 March 2014 | 10 October 2015 | 14 May 2017 |