TSAMTO, August 18. The command of the Navy of the Republic of Korea has adopted the Chang Bogo-3 (KSS-3 Batch-1) class head NPL with a displacement of 3000 tons, which has the capabilities of launching ballistic missiles (SLBMs).
The commissioning ceremony of the SS-083 Dosan Ahn Chang-ho was held on August 13 at the Okpo Shipyard of the South Korean shipbuilding company Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) on the island of Koje.
SS-083 is the first of three submarines of the KSS-3 series, which are planned to be built for the Republic of Korea Navy by 2023 using national technologies. As stated, 76% of the components of the lead submarine were produced in the Republic of Korea. The Navy said that the use of NAPL for its intended purpose will begin in August next year after the completion of a one-year assessment.
As reported by TSAMTO, the Defense Procurement Programs Agency of the Republic of Korea (DAPA) signed a contract with DSME in December 2012 for the construction of the first two 3,000-ton submarines within the first stage (Batch-1) of the national KSS-3 project. The cost of the agreement is estimated at $ 1.56 billion. Hyundai Heavy Industries was chosen by DAPA as the contractor for the construction of the third submarine at the end of 2016.
Steel cutting for the lead submarine began on November 27, 2014, and the keel was laid in May 2016. SS-083 "Dosan Ahn Chang-ho" (Dosan Ahn Chang-ho) was launched in September 2018.
The laying of the second submarine of the series, (SS-085) "Ahn Moo" (Ahn Moo), took place at the DSME enterprise in Okpo on July 1, 2016, launching – in November 2020. It is planned that it will be transferred to the fleet in December 2022 and will enter combat service in January 2024.
Hyundai Heavy Industries started construction of the third NPL series, SS-086 "Lee Dong-nyeong" (Yi Dong-nyeong), in June 2017.
In July 2016, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. was selected as the contractor for the design and construction of the lead heavy non-nuclear submarine of the KSS-3 project of the second batch (KSS-3 Batch-2). The preliminary draft of this NPL was developed in December 2018.
In total, by 2029, the Korean Navy expects to adopt up to nine KSS-3 submarines in three batches. The new NAPS will gradually replace the Chang Bogo submarines, which have been in service since 1993.
According to available data, the length of the submarine KSS-3 Batch-1 is 83.3 m, the maximum width is 9.6 m, the height is 14.7 m, the draft is 7.62 m, the underwater displacement is 3705 tons (surface 3358 tons), the crew is about 50 people. The submarine is equipped with an air – independent power plant, the estimated speed is up to 20 knots in the underwater position, the cruising range is 10,000 nautical miles, the duration of navigation in the underwater position is 20 days.
The basic design of the submarine provides for its equipment with six vertical launch tubes manufactured by Doosan with Hyunmu-2 ballistic missiles (firing range of 500 km) manufactured by the national company LIG Nex1.
LIG Nex1 will also supply the KSS-3 combat control system and active and passive GAS. The submarines will be equipped with South Korean lithium-ion batteries.
