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As a result, Korea's ships were becoming larger and more ocean-going, and their confidence was swelling.
Most Koreans believed that their navy's strength was second only to the United States, Japan, France, and Russia. As for the UK and China, they didn't have aircraft carriers at the time (2002), and their number of large and medium-sized surface ships was smaller than Korea's.
The Korean Navy had a total force of around 35,000 personnel.
Their fleet for this exercise included one Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship, one Gojunbong-class tank landing ship, two KDX-2 Aegis destroyers (including the ROKS Yi Sun-sin), three KDX-1 destroyers, five Incheon-class FFX-1 frigates, and six Ulsan-class frigates.
In the previous timeline, the Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship would have been launched in 2005. But this time, with French support, Korea's development was much faster.
At 3:00 PM, the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, along with its amphibious assault ship, Aquitaine-class destroyers, La Fayette-class frigates, and a Rubis-class attack submarine, appeared in the Far East.
The Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship, Gojunbong-class tank landing ship, and KDX-2 Aegis destroyer group from the Korean naval base met up with the French fleet in the Far East.
This massive joint fleet, with over 40 ships, took up a huge area of the sea. The scale was so spectacular that it felt as if they were going to trample the entire ocean.
Naturally, this scene attracted war correspondents from around the world. They took specialized helicopters and, with cameras and camcorders, did their best to capture every moment.
"Compared to last year's Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force exercise, this joint Korean-French exercise is almost twice as big! Even an aircraft carrier battle group is involved. I wonder how Russia will respond?" A reporter who had covered the Russian-Japanese sea standoff last year asked his colleague.
"Last year, the Russian Navy scrambled its Kuznetsov aircraft carrier battle group. They worked with nuclear submarines and Tu-95 strategic bombers to scare off the Japanese Navy. The Koreans and French have probably learned from Japan's mistake and will be more cautious with their air and underwater units," the other reporter replied.
War correspondents were often amateur military experts, and their analysis was spot on.
This time, the joint Korean-French fleet had prepared thoroughly for Russia's Tu-95 and Tu-160 supersonic bombers, as well as their attack and missile submarines.
They had more fighter jets on standby nearby and increased their underwater combat units, using a French Rubis-class attack submarine to counter Russia's 971-class submarine. Their goal was to completely overpower the Russians in terms of presence and strength and give them a memorable show of force.
"Look! Over there! Is that the Russian fleet? Is it the Kuznetsov aircraft carrier battle group?" The war correspondents in the helicopters looked at the distant sea with binoculars. There was a black, conventionally powered aircraft carrier with three Sovremenny-class destroyers and six Grisha-class frigates slowly approaching the joint Korean-French fleet.
Since the Koreans and French were holding a joint exercise, Russia decided to join the fun. However, their exercise areas were different, and their restricted zones were not the same.
Seeing that the Russian fleet had only a measly 10 warships, the Korean-French joint fleet, which had four times that number, completely dominated in terms of presence and power.
"Send the underwater units to scout the area ahead and see if the Russian nuclear submarines are lying in wait. Also, put the air units on standby, in case the Russians try any tricks to disrupt our exercise," Captain Le Goff of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle ordered his fleet.
Even though there were only 10 Russian ships ahead, the French Navy would not be as arrogant as the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. They didn't want to be caught off guard by the Russians.
Meanwhile, the Korean Navy, which was with the French fleet, wasn't nearly as cautious. When they saw how weak the Russian fleet was, their hearts, which had been in their throats, finally settled down.
"As I thought, with the distribution of Russia's four fleets, they couldn't possibly all rush to the Far East this quickly! This is their navy's weakness—the sea area is too vast, and their response time is slow!" Lieutenant General Min Jun-ho, the commander of the Korean Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship, said with a smug smile.
They had intentionally played a timing game with Russia, preventing the Russian Navy from having enough time to send reinforcements, as they did last time against Japan.
"Lieutenant General, the Russian fleet's restricted zone is 28 nautical miles ahead. At our current speed, we'll enter that area in about 75 minutes. Should we order the fleet to slow down?" the deputy major general asked, offering a suggestion.
Entering another country's restricted zone is a very serious provocation. Just like last time, when Japan not only entered the Russian Navy's restricted zone but also sped toward them, trying to forcefully disrupt their exercise.
"The Russians only sent ten warships, and they need such a huge area for a military exercise?" Lieutenant General Min Jun-ho re-examined the Russian fleet's restricted zone. He had felt they were "bluffing" when he first saw how large the area was.
Now, compared to the small number of 10 ships, it was clear that the Russian Navy didn't need such a large area. Besides, at their current speeds, it would take at least another four hours to have a close-quarters engagement (they were currently 450 kilometers apart).
The reason it would take four hours to engage in close combat was because conventional anti-ship missiles needed to be launched from a certain range. If launched at a target 300 kilometers away, the missile's flight time would be around 18 minutes. During that time, the target ship would have traveled around 15 kilometers, and the missile's navigation error would be about 3 kilometers.
Adding those two numbers together gives a 18-kilometer deviation from the target point. Even with a missile's seeker range of 15 kilometers, it wouldn't be able to lock onto the target.
So, conventional anti-ship missiles generally need to be launched from around 200 kilometers to accurately lock onto a target. Beyond that distance, the hit rate is very low.
A fascinating comparison: in the 1980s, the Tomahawk cruise missile had a range of 2,000 kilometers, but the anti-ship version's range was only 500 kilometers. The US military ultimately didn't adopt it, mainly due to the different guidance systems.