TSAMTO, October 11. Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has announced the keel laying ceremony of the Sejong Dewong (KDX-3) second-series URO-class destroyer designed for the Republic of Korea Navy, which took place on October 5 in Ulsan.
The ship, equipped with the AEGIS system, will be the first of three next-generation destroyers that will allow the Republic of Korea Navy to intercept ballistic missiles.
The company started construction of the destroyer in February 2021 after the completion of the design phase. It is assumed that the launch of the destroyer will take place in the second half of 2022, and its delivery to the Navy of the Republic of Korea is scheduled for November 2024.
It is planned that the large-displacement destroyers of the second batch will be equipped with more advanced systems and weapons than the ships of the first batch. It is assumed that the length of the ship will be 170 m (3 m longer than the KDX-III ships of the first batch), width - 21 m, standard displacement - 8,100 tons (7,600 tons for the first batch). Equipped with the AEGIS weapon control system, the destroyer will be able to reach a maximum speed of 30 knots.
According to the company, in comparison with the existing destroyers, the new ships will receive improved combat systems capable of detecting and tracking targets at a longer range and with higher accuracy, will have improved seaworthiness and anti-submarine characteristics. The ship's armament will include the SM-2 "Standard" Block-3B.
As reported by TSAMTO, the first batch of three KDX-3 destroyers equipped with the AEGIS system of Baseline 7.1 version was adopted by the Republic of Korea Navy in the period from 2008 to 2012. Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) built the first and third ships, and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) – the second.
The design of the KDX-3 Series-2 ships by Hyundai Heavy Industries began after the conclusion of the contract in May 2016. In April 2019, the Defense Projects Review Committee headed by the Minister of Defense approved plans for the construction of a second batch of three Sejong Dewong-class URO destroyers and next-generation submarines for the country's Navy. The total cost of building destroyers is estimated at 3.9 trillion. won ($3.3 billion).
In October 2019, the Defense Procurement Programs Agency of the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea (DAPA) signed a contract with Hyundai Heavy Industries for the development of a working design and construction of the second series of the Sejong Dewong-class URO destroyer (KDX-3) for the country's Navy. The contract value was 667.6 billion. won ($565 million).
