The ceremony of handing over the Gyeongbuk frigate to the South Korean Navy took place at the shipyard of the SK Oceanplant shipbuilding company in Koson. According to Naval News, this is the second FFX-III (Chunnam) class ship designed for the national fleet. It was laid down in 2023 and launched in June 2025.
Representatives of SK Oceanplant noted that the transfer of the ship to the customer took place earlier than planned.
Surrender of the Gyeongbuk frigate, South Korea
SK Oceanplant
"The early delivery is important because it dispelled concerns about the company's limited experience in building large warships," SK Oceanplant said in a statement. "However, we overcame difficulties thanks to systematic process management and technical expertise."
After the early delivery of the Gyeongbuk frigate, SK Oceanplant plans to supply the following FFX-III class frigates, Jeongnam and Jeju, to the South Korean navy sequentially, with an interval of about six months.
Earlier, in 2024, Hyundai Heavy Industries handed over the first FFX-III Chunnam class frigate to the South Korean navy. In total, Seoul plans to adopt six ships of this type.
Currently, the South Korean navy operates six FFX-I type frigates (Incheon class) and eight FFX-II type frigates (Daegu).
Chunnam-class frigates differ from representatives of the FFX-I and FFX-II series in various technological innovations. One of them is an integrated mast that includes an active phased array radar (AFAR), an advanced IRST (infrared search and tracking) system, and electro-optical sensors that will help the crew better detect possible threats and protect themselves.
Gyeongbuk Frigate, South Korea
SK Oceanplant
In addition, the FFX-III frigates are the first ships of the South Korean Navy equipped with CIWS-II short-range artillery complexes from the local company LIG Nex1.
The displacement of the FFX-III type frigate is 4,300 tons, the length of the hull is 129 meters, and the width is 14.8 meters. The MT30 gas turbine unit from the British Rolls-Royce can reach speeds of up to 30 knots.
The ship's standard armament includes a 127-mm artillery mount, SSM-700K anti-ship missiles, K-SAAM anti-aircraft missiles and 324-mm K-745 torpedoes.
