TSAMTO, January 21. Defense Minister of the Republic of Korea So Uk met with his Thai counterpart in Bangkok on January 17 to discuss issues of bilateral defense cooperation.
The talks with Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is also the Minister of Defense, took place on the second day of the South Korean Minister's three-day visit to Thailand.
During the meeting, Prayuth Chan-ocha said that Bangkok seeks to expand cooperation with the Republic of Korea in the field of armaments. In this regard, after the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic has improved, the possibility of buying a new frigate and holding negotiations on expanding cooperation in the defense sector are being considered.
The South Korean Minister also expressed gratitude to Thailand for the purchase of additional improved T-50TH training aircraft from Korea Aerospace Industries in July last year and said that the Republic of Korea intends to continue its participation in Thailand's military projects in the future.
As reported by TSAMTO, in September 2012, the Thai government approved the allocation of 30 billion rubles. BAHT ($977 million) for the construction of two multipurpose frigates for the Navy. In April 2013, the Thai Navy selected DSME as the winner of the tender for the construction of the first ship. A contract with DSME worth 14.6 billion. baht (about $468 million). at the time of the order) for the construction of the lead ship was signed in August 2013.
As part of the contract, a DW3000F-class frigate was built for the Thai Navy, which is an upgraded version of the South Korean destroyer KDX-1 (Kwanggaeto Daewoo).
Ship (471) "Bhumibol Adulyadej" was handed over to representatives of the Thai Navy on December 14, 2018 at the DSME enterprise in Okpo and arrived in Thailand on January 7, 2019. The contract for the construction of the second ship was never signed.
According to available data, the length of the frigate is 122.5 m, width - 14.4 m, displacement - about 3650 tons, crew - 136 people. The frigate can reach a maximum speed of 30 knots, a cruising range of more than 4,000 nautical miles at a speed of 18 knots. The ship is equipped with a 76-mm Oto Melara artillery installation, two 20-mm Phalanx ZAK Block.1B, 8 RGM-8 Harpoon PKR, 8-container Mk41 VPU, which allows launching up to 32 ESSM missiles, two DS-30M Mk.2 MSI Defense companies with 30 mm guns and two three-tube 324 mm SEA torpedo tubes. The frigate is equipped with a 9LV Mk4 combat control system, two CEROS-200 radar/electro-optical fire control systems and the Si Giraffe AMB radar from Saab with a detection range of more than 180 km, as well as a towed low-frequency active gas (ACTAS) from Atlas Electronik.