TSAMTO, September 9. At the enterprise of the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering company in Okpo (O.On September 8, the launch ceremony of the URO frigate of the FFX-2 project (also known as Daegu and Ulsan Batch-II) took place.
Frigate (825) "Pohang" (Pohang) is the sixth ship of the FFX-2 project. It should be handed over to the Republic of Korea Navy in early 2023 after the tests are completed.
According to the Navy of the Republic of Korea, the new frigates will have enhanced capabilities to detect and combat enemy submarines. They are designed to replace outdated 1500-ton frigates and 1000-ton corvettes.
As reported by TSAMTO, in total, the Republic of Korea Navy should receive 8 frigates of the FFX-2 project. The ships are designed to perform a wide range of tasks, including patrolling territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone, fighting enemy submarines, air defense, conducting reconnaissance, conducting search and rescue operations.
The contract is worth 322.6 billion rubles. won ($305.8 million) for the construction of the lead frigate of the FFX-2 project, the Defense Procurement Programs Agency of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea (DAPA) signed with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in December 2013. The lead ship, (818) Daegu, was commissioned on March 6, 2018. The second DSME-built frigate, (819) "Gyeongnam", was transferred to the Republic of Korea Navy on December 31, 2020.
The third and fourth ships are being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries. The contract for the construction of the 5th and 6th frigates was signed by DAPA with DSME, and the 7th and 8th-with Hyundai Heavy Industries. The delivery of the ships is scheduled for 2023.
The length of the frigate FFX-2 is 122.1 m, width-14 m, standard displacement-2800 tons, full displacement-3650 tons. The ship is equipped with a combined CODLOG-type power plant with one Rolls-Royce MT30 turbine and four MTU 12V 4000 diesel engines. The maximum speed of the frigate is 30 knots (55.6 km / h). The crew consists of 124 people.
The ship will be armed with a 127-mm Mk-45 Mod.4 artillery system, a 20-mm ZAK "Phalanx" Block. 1B, a 16-container vertical K-VLS launcher of the K-SAAM SAM of South Korean production, SSM-700K Haeseong PKR and SSM-701K Haeryong KR, two 324-mm three-tube torpedo tubes. The SQR-250K TASS system is used to detect, identify and track enemy submarines. The ship can carry one medium helicopter. The frigates are equipped with GAS with a towed antenna array and long-range anti-submarine torpedoes.
