TSAMTO, September 30. At the Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. On September 28, Ulsan hosted the launching ceremony of the cHang Bogo-3 class (KSS-3 Batch-1) with a displacement of 3,000 tons, which has the capabilities of launching a SLBM.
During the event, which was attended by representatives of industry and the command of the Navy of the Republic of Korea, the submarine was named "sHin Chae Ho" (Shin Chae-ho).
sHin Chae Ho is the third of three submarines of the KSS-3 Batch-1 series, which are planned to be built for the Republic of Korea Navy by 2023 using national technologies as part of a project with a total cost of 3.09 trillion. won ($2.7 billion), launched in 2007.
As reported by TSAMTO, the contract for the construction of the first two 3,000-ton submarines within the first stage (Batch-1) of the national project KSS-3 was signed by the Defense Procurement Programs Agency of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea (DAPA) with DSME (Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering) in December 2012. 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.
SS-083 Dosan Ahn Chang-ho was launched in September 2018 and transferred to the Republic of Korea Navy on August 13, 2021. The launch of the second submarine SS-085 "aHn Mu" (Ahn Mu) took place in November last year, and it will be transferred to the Navy next year.
Hyundai Heavy Industries started the construction of the third NAPL series in June 2017. The keel laying took place on April 10, 2019. Its delivery to the Navy of the Republic of Korea is scheduled for 2024.
In August 2021, simultaneously with the delivery of Dosan An Chang-ho, the construction of the KSS-3 series of the second batch (KSS-3 Batch-2) began at DSME. The first NPL of the second batch should be transferred to the Navy in 2026, and the second in 2028.
In total, by 2029, the Navy of the Republic of Korea expects to adopt up to nine KSS-3 submarines in three batches, the total cost of which is estimated at 10 billion. won ($8.7 billion). The new NAPS will gradually replace the cHang Bogo submarines, which have been in service since 1993.
