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SEOUL,  -- The South Korean Navy took delivery Friday of the country's first indigenous next-generation amphibious landing ship expected to boost the military's landing and transportation capabilities, the state arms procurer said.
The 4,500-ton LTS-II ship Cheonwangbong, named after the country's second-highest peak of Mount Jiri in the southern region, had been built with the country's own technology by shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. since 2011.
Capable of accommodating 300 fully-armed troops as well as amphibious tanks and two helicopters, the vessel gives the military advanced mobility and loading capabilities, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
The ship, which is 126 meters long and 19 meters wide, can sail at a maximum speed of 23 knots.
After some five months of test runs and other necessary procedures, the Navy plans to put it into service in the first half of next year, according to officers.
"The next-generation landing ship can play diverse roles, including carrying out landing operations duties, transporting goods to bases and remote areas, and conducting warfare against local provocations," the DAPA said in a statement.
"It is also expected to enhance national dignity by being dispatched to diverse peace-keeping operations overseas," it added.
Also Friday, the Navy received its 17th guided-missile destroyer to be in charge of defending the country's shoreline and harbors.
Equipped with the latest indigenous weaponry including ship-to-ship guided missiles, the 450-ton, high-speed ship can sail at a top speed of 40 knots with 40 crew members, according to DAPA.

CHANGWON, 23 oct. (Yonhap) -- Une nouvelle frégate de 2.300 tonnes, baptisée Chungbuk, a été lancée aujourd’hui au cours d’une cérémonie à laquelle ont assisté le chef adjoint des opérations navales, Jung Ho-sup, et d’autres officiels de la marine.

La cérémonie s'est déroulée sur le chantier naval de STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. à Changwon, dans le sud du pays. Il s’agit de la cinquième livraison effectuée dans le cadre du projet visant à moderniser la flotte de la marine sud-coréenne. Le premier bateau, l’Incheon, a été livré en 2011. Le projet prévoit le lancement d’un total de 20 bateaux à l’horizon de 2020.

Le Chungbuk est long de 114 mètres et peut accueillir jusqu’à 120 personnes et naviguer à une vitesse de 30 nœuds (55,5 km/h), a-t-il été précisé. Il est aussi équipé d’un radar trois dimensions, d’un système de détection des torpilles et de missiles antiaériens, antinavires et anti-sous-marins.

Cette nouvelle frégate sera livrée à la marine à la fin de 2015 et se joindra à sa flotte en 2016.

Navy Recognition learned from two separate sources who wished to remain anonymous that French defense companies Sagem and Thales would have been selected to provide sensor systems for South Korea’s Jangbogo III heavy diesel-electric submarine programme (KSS-III).

Sagem will likely deliver its latest periscope system: the Series 30 Attack and Search Optronic Mast. According to Sagem, it is the most modern and complete optronic surveillance mast on the market. Its four simultaneously operational sensors, image processing and operating modes make it perfect for advanced detection of airborne or surface threats. It can equip both classic and nuclear submarines, whether new or retrofit units.
The Series 30 SMS is a non-penetrating mast designed for above-surface surveillance: navigation safety, surveillance, intelligence collection and self-protection combining electronic and optronic warfare. Compatible with a full range of electromagnetic antenna (GPS, ESM, early warning and communication), it includes a high-definition thermal imager as well as a high-definition camera, and can simultaneously accommodate a low-light level, anti-blooming camera and a laser range finder.
Its four optronic sensors, which can be used simultaneously to obtain panoramic scene captures in record time, are the fastest on the market. Known as the “Quick Look Round” feature, it enables panoramic or segment displays in separate, full resolution or compressed windows. This mode is available in addition to the conventional, live display of the different video channels.

Details on the type (or types) of sonar to be provided by the underwater division of Thales (TUS) are confidential but Navy Recognition guess it is highly likely that KSS-III will at least be fitted with the Planar Flank Array Sonar (PFAS) passive long range sonar.
TUS PFAS enables full use of the large available space on the flanks of the submarine to install acoustic arrays of maximum aperture (length x height). The use of Adaptive Beamforming provides a very efficient rejection of the own ship noise and flow noise, which increases detection and classification performances even at high operational speed. Excellent bearing resolution/discrimination also enable increased Target Motion Analysis performance. A particular highlight of the TUS PFAS is its very reduced baffle which contributes to a large bearing coverage. Flank arrays feature no maneuverability constraints as compared to Clip-On Towed Arrays.

Both the new generation optronic masts and flank array sonars will give the new boats of the ROKN an important operational advantage in threats detection, identification and tracking. Same technology has already been selected by the French Navy for the future class of Barracuda nuclear-powered submarines. KSS-III is a conventional submarine project (SSK).

The original design of the submarine includes 6 VLS (vertical launch system) tubes. They would accomodate a future cruise missile in development by LIG Nex1 while the launchers would be provided by Doosan. It was announced earlier this year that Spanish company INDRA was selected to provide its electronic defense system (ESM) PEGASO and Babcock of the UK would design and manufacture the Weapon Handling System for the submarines.

Under the Jangbogo III programme boat one is due to be handed over to the Republic of Korea Navy at the end of 2020, and boat two at the end of 2022.

LONDON, Sept. 25 (UPI) --Babcock, the British engineering firm, says it has completed design definition for a weapons handling system for a new class of South Korean Navy submarines.

Manufacturing drawings will now be produced as part of the next production definition phase of development, the company said.

"We are delighted to have completed the design of the handling system, marking an important stage in the WHLS (weapon handling and launch system) design and production process, and successfully meeting a challenging tight schedule to help the customer maintain the main build schedule," said Babcock Defense Systems Technology Managing Director Jeff Lewis.

Babcock was awarded a contract by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering to design the weapon handling and launch system for the 3,300 ton Jangbogo III submarine. Babcock will also manufacture the equipment for the first two boats of the class, which will number as many as nine vessels.

The WHLS features an air turbine pump and programmable firing valve launch system. Babcock said it is based on the principles used in the WHLS being supplied by Babcock for submarines of other navies.

Babcock said it has also completed the design of the weapon stowage equipment and centerline lift, which will use hydraulic control and actuation to handle weapons inside the submarine's weapon stowage compartment and load the weapons into the torpedo tubes.

WHLS sub-system designs also completed by Babcock include parts of the torpedo tube and the flood and drain system.

South Korea's military confirmed Sunday it has detected signs of North Korea's development of a submarine-based ballistic missile launch system.
In a report to an opposition lawmaker, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said there is an indication that the North is developing a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).
"There is no intelligence yet that North Korea has an SLBM in operation. But the possibility of a North Korean submarine equipped with an SLBM has been detected recently," the JCS said in the document submitted to Rep. Jin Sung-joon of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy.
South Korea and the U.S. are jointly scrutinizing the North's related move, added the JCS.
A senior South Korean government source also said the South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies spotted signs that the North has developed a ballistic missile launch tube.
"A missile launch tube for submarine use has been spotted, which appears to have been developed at North Korea's submarine base," the source said on condition of anonymity.
Chances are high that the North will test-fire a SLBM in the foreseeable future, and if it is successful, the communist nation is expected to seek to acquire larger submarines, according to the source.
An annual white paper on warships, Jane's Fighting Ships, said in its 1994 edition that North Korea purchased 40 decommissioned submarines from Russia, including several Golf-class and Romeo-class submarines.
The North has reportedly deployed more than 20 Romeo-class submarines, which are not capable of carrying an SLBM launcher.
It may be modifying 3,000-ton Golf-class submarines for SLBMs, the source said.
In August, a U.S. web magazine, the Washington Free Beacon, quoting unnamed U.S. defense officials, said the U.S. intelligence community has identified at least one North Korean submarine equipped with a ballistic missile launch tube. (Yonhap)

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the world’s biggest shipbuilder, announced today it launched South Korea’s fifth submarine, ROKS Yun Bong-gil, at its headquarters in Ulsan, South Korea.

The launching ceremony of the Class 214 diesel-electric air independent propulsion (AIP) submarine was attended by Admiral Hwang Ki-chul, the chief of naval operations, Republic of Korea; Mr. Kim Oi-hyun, president and CEO of HHI; and 200 other guests.

The Class 214 AIP submarine, measuring 65m in length and 7m in width, can sail at a maximum speed of 20 knots with a crew of 40. With a 1,800-ton displacement capacity, South Korea’s largest submarine made of high yield steel can dive up to 400m deep and last 2 weeks under water with fuel cells. The submarine, equipped with guided missiles, torpedoes and mines, also features an automatic simultaneous target tracking system and a torpedo guidance and detection system.

The submarine, named after Yun Bong-gil, the Korean independence activist during the Japanese occupation of Korea, will be delivered to the Korean Navy by the end of 2015 after seaborne operational exercises.

The South Korea-based shipbuilder has also delivered South Korea’s first, second, and third Class 214 submarines and is currently building the Korean navy’s seventh and ninth submarines of the same class.

Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin said the warship follows the acceptance by the Armed Forces of the Philippines of an earlier ROKN donation of a landing craft utility and 16 rubber boats.

Secretary Gazmin, who was on official visit to South Korea from May 29 to 31, was accompanied by the new Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S Hernandez.

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwang-jin remarked at the start of the meeting at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul’s Yonsan-gu that Secretary Gazmin is the defense secretary he has met with the most.

Tokyo is planning to revise a law to include any vessels contributing to Japanese defense

The Japanese government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are currently discussing the idea of including a provision about protecting South Korean Aegis destroyers in a revised version of the Self-Defense Forces Law, which will be submitted to the regular session of the Japanese Diet, newspaper reports indicate. South Korea uses the Aegis destroyers to monitor ballistic missile launches by North Korea. “The Japanese government notified the ruling party of its plan to include a clause that would allow the Japan Self-Defense Forces to defend the warships of countries other than the US in a revision to legislation pertaining to national security, including the Self-Defense Forces Act, which it plans to submit to the Diet during the current session,” the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper said in a Jan. 27 report. “There is a growing sense inside the Japanese government that the militaries of other countries, including Australia, are likely to participate in a missile defense system. As a result, it began reviewing the idea of revising the law to enable the Japan Self-Defense Forces to defend the military units of other countries - not just the US - to ensure Japan’s security,” the newspaper said, explaining why the Japanese government had decided on this course of action. When the Japanese cabinet announced in June 2014 that it was altering its interpretation of the constitution to allow the exercise of the right of collective self-defense, it stated that it would revise the law to enable the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) to take the minimum necessary military action to defend US warships or other military units that are acting in concert with the JSDF to protect Japan. As a specific example of what such a revision might mean, the Japanese government explained that Japan could defend American Aegis destroyers off the coast of Japan that can detect ballistic missiles launches in North Korea. If the Japanese government’s plan takes effect, the JSDF would be responsible for protecting not only US vessels, but any vessels that are contributing to the defense of Japan. While the Mainichi Shimbun mentioned Australia as a country to which the plan could apply, realistically speaking, South Korea‘s Aegis destroyers - which are capable of tracking North Korea’s ballistic missiles - are expected to be the primary beneficiaries of protection by the JDFS. On Dec. 29, 2014, South Korea, the US, and Japan signed an agreement about sharing intelligence related to threats posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missiles. Concerns are growing that this information-sharing agreement will ultimately bring South Korea one step closer to joining the US-led missile defense program, while accelerating military integration between the three countries. “The cabinet decision only provides overall guidance. There is no problem with passing laws that include points that were not mentioned in the original decision,” a Japanese government official said in regard to the fact that the cabinet decision in July 2014 did not discuss an expansion of the JSDF’s defensive responsibilities.

Under the Jangbogo III programme, the first submarine is due to be launched in 2018 and handed over to the Republic of Korea Navy at the end of 2020 following two years of sea trials. The second submarine will be delivered at the end of 2022. KSS-III is expected to be produced in three batches:
Batch-I consists in the first two hulls to be built by DSME.
Batch-II will consist in three hulls built by HHI (Huyndai Heavy Industries). They will be fitted with a greater deal of South Korean technology.
Batch-III will consists in the four remaining hulls (for a total of nine KSS-III submarines across all batches). The last submarine is expected to be delivered in 2029.
The original design of the submarine includes 6x VLS (vertical launch system) tubes. They would accomodate a future cruise missile in development by LIG Nex1 while the launchers would be provided by Doosan. It was announced earlier this year that Spanish company INDRA was selected to provide its electronic defense system (ESM) PEGASO and Babcock of the UK would design and manufacture the Weapon Handling System for the Batch-I submarine.
It was officialy announced during Euronaval 2014 that Sagem would supply the optronic masts for the class. Navy Recogition learned in september from a source that Thales would supply sonar systems for the class. However it appears that flank array sonars will actually be provided by Korean company LIG Nex1. LIG will also supply KSS-III's combat management system. The submarine will be fitted with south korean lithium-ion battery technology.

Detailed specifications of KSS-III (Jangbogo 3) Batch-I:
Full-length 83.5m
Beam 9.6m
Pressure sensor diameter 7.7m
Draught 7.62m
Crew: 50 sailors
M aximum speed: 20 knots
Cruising range" 10,000 nm
Surface tonnage: 3358 tons
Submerged tonnage: 3705 tons

Hunydai WIA of South Korea was showcasing its 76mm naval gun system during Indo Defence 2014, the international defence exhibition held in Jakarta in November. Talking to a WIA representative, Navy Recognition learned that this naval gun has already been selected by the Republic of Korea Navy (ROK Navy): Seventeen are being fitted on the "PKG" Gumdoksuri-class patrol vessel and one will be fitted onboard the 'MLS-II' anti-submarine minelayer currently being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries.

Sang-Cheol Han, sales manager of the defense division of WIA, explained to us that while some of the components of the gun are the same as on the Oto Melara naval guns (such as the barrel), most other subsystems are self designed and built such as the reloading system and control station, the hydraulics etc.

The carbon composite cupola of the gun has been improved: We were told that thanks to the new design, the WIA 76mm gun has radar cross section (RCS) about 80% smaller compared to the 76mm Compact by Oto Melara. We were also told that this gun has an improved rate of fire compared to its Italian counterpart (100 rounds per minutes).

The 76mm naval gun by Hyundai WIA is light weight (less than 8,900 kg) and compact which makes it suitable for installation on small vessels. The gun comes with an auto-loader with 80 ready to fire rounds. The turret has an elevation of -15 degrees and +85 degrees vertical and 360 degrees horizontal. The range of the gun with standard ammunition is 16.3 km (8.8 nautical miles).

Euronaval 2014 Paris October, 27 2014 - Following an international request for proposals, Sagem (Safran) has signed a contract with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd (DSME) of South Korea, to supply the optronic surveillance masts for the country’s new submarines.
The selection of Sagem was made by a commission comprising members from the South Korean navy, DAPA (Defense Acquisition Program Administration), ADD (Agency for Defense Development) and DSME. The decisive factors in this decision were the best world-class competitiveness and performance level offered by Sagem’s optronic masts, especially in terms of image resolution and processing, and their easy integration in the ship’s combat suite.
This latest contract emphasizes the outstanding collaboration between South Korean industry and Sagem. Sagem’s new generation of optronic masts, which do not penetrate the thick hull, feature low-observability and radar stealth. In addition to the optronic (electro-optical) sensors from Sagem, they also include a signal intelligence system, and an infrared system for discreet communications.
The future optronic surveillance mast is derived from Sagem’s Series 30 masts already in production for the Scorpène class submarines built by French naval shipyard DCNS for international markets, and for the future Suffren class nuclear attack submarines in the French navy’s Barracuda program.
Sagem develops and produces for its partners a complete family of optronic masts and attack periscopes, electronic warfare equipment and radars for submarines.
The masts will be integrated at Sagem’s plant in Dijon and the infrared imagers in Poitiers.

Indonesian shipbuilder PT PAL is sending additional personnel to South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) to undergo training in submarine construction, it was announced on 17 October.

The training is part of the industrial collaboration programme linked to Indonesia's order in late 2011 of three DSME Chang Bogo-class Type 209/1200 submarines.

This programme outlines DSME's construction of the first two submarines with gradually increased input from PT PAL personnel, leading to the Indonesian company's licenced-build of the third boat at its facilities in Surabaya.

PT PAL said in a statement that 160 personnel will travel to South Korea over the next few months and will join other PT PAL engineers and technicians already seconded to DSME.

SEOUL, Sep. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — It is likely the next-generation submarine for the Republic of Korea Navy will be Jangbogo III (Batch I) based on homegrown technology.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said on September 29 that Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the shipbuilder to assemble two 3,000-ton class conventional submarines, has sufficient capabilities to build such ships in a critical design review sessions held for five days between September 25 and 29 with 150 experts from the navy, industry, and academia.

The 3,000-ton Jangbogo III is Korea’s first submarine built with proprietary technology. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration had signed a design and assembly agreement with Daewoo Shipbuilding on December 24, 2012. Currently the detailed design stage is under way.

In the latest meeting, experts discussed in-depth reviews on five areas including operational performance, special performance, test evaluation, and the like and concluded that the design blueprint of the Jangbogo III has reached a completion stage.

Shin Jeong-ho, brigadier general and the head of DAPA’s naval shipbuilding unit, said, “The Jangbogo III will be Korea’s first ship applied with systems engineering. The recent critical design review session proved that Korea has enough submarine building capacity comparable to that of major industrialized countries in the world.”

LONDON, Sept. 16 (UPI) --Rolls-Royce is touting the passage of acceptance tests by its first MT30 gas turbine engine for the Republic of Korea Navy's FFX frigate program.

The engine, the "world's most power-dense marine gas turbine," will power eight Block II FFX ships being built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.

The MT30 is derived from Rolls-Royce aero engine technology, and produces 36 to 40 megawatts. It already powers the U.S. Navy's Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ships and will power the U.S. Navy's DDG-1000 Zumwalt class destroyer, as well as Britain's Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers and Type 26 frigates.

"The MT30 is becoming the gas turbine of choice for many of the world's major naval program, with its inherent reliability and power density driving its selection," said Don Roussinos, Rolls-Royce' president of its Naval business. "The FFX II program is significant in that it will be the first application for the MT30 outside of the UK and US markets, and also the first ship to use a single MT30, alongside diesels."

Rolls-Royce said the MT30 engine will be shipped to Korea, where Hyundai Heavy Industries will integrate it into a steel enclosure which also houses the air inlets, exhausts and ancillary equipment.

The Colombian Navy (ARC) received three vessels from South Korea in late July as part of its 'Plan Orion 2' naval expansion scheme that aims to significantly increase patrol capabilities by 2030.

The first was the 1,723-ton ARC Nariño , the former Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) Donghae-class guided missile corvette ROKS Anyang (PCC 755) that was retired from service in September 2011.

Nariño was delivered to the ARC on 30 July and will be based at the Malaga naval base on the Pacific coast once it arrives in Colombia, according to a communiqué from the Colombian Embassy in Seoul.

SEOUL, 13 juin (Yonhap) -- La marine devrait achever cette année la construction d'une nouvelle base sur l'île Baengnyeong, près de la frontière maritime avec la Corée du Nord (NLL), afin d'améliorer considérablement la capacité du pays à faire face aux provocations maritimes de la Corée du Nord, ont déclaré ce vendredi des officiels.

La base accueillera des navires de patrouille avancés, comme le patrouilleur de 570 tonnes, ou PKG, et le patrouilleur de classe Chamsuri de 170 tonnes, ou PKM, a déclaré un officier de la marine. La base pourra aussi accueillir jusqu'à 100 troupes, a-t-il ajouté.

«Le déploiement du PKG dans la nouvelle base permettra à l'armée de mieux répondre à la violation de la NLL par le Nord et à ses provocations maritimes», a dit l'officier, sous couvert d'anonymat.

La base de Baengnyeong se situe sur la partie sud de l'île, à 10 kilomètres de la frontière maritime. La Corée du Nord refuse de reconnaître cette frontière, revendiquant qu'elle doit être annulée. Cette frontière avait été établie unilatéralement par les forces de l'ONU à la fin de la guerre de Corée.

La construction de cette base de 42,5 milliards de wons (41,76 millions de dollars) fait partie des efforts de Séoul pour renforcer sa défense navale dans cette zone sous tension, en particulier depuis l'escarmouche intercoréenne près de l'île Yeonpyeong en 1999.

En 2010, le Nord a attaqué le navire de guerre sud-coréen Cheonan, tuant 46 marins sud-coréens, et quelques mois plus tard le pays a également attaqué l'île de Yoenpyeong, faisant quatre morts, dont deux civils.

La Corée du Nord a complété en 2012 la construction d'une base navale en face de l'île de Baengnyeong. La base du Nord est capable d’accueillir jusqu'à 70 aéroglisseurs.

«Plus d'efforts sont nécessaires pour renforcer le personnel et les équipements de la deuxième flotte de la marine sud-coréenne», a affirmé un officiel de la marine.

North Korea has a new anti-ship missile with a range of 130 km that poses a big threat to South Korea's elderly patrol corvettes.
A recent propaganda film shown on North Korean state TV shows the missile is similar to the U.S.' Harpoon missile, a military source here said Sunday. "It's probably either the Russian-developed Kh-35 Uran or a copy."
The missile was shown among the country's closely guarded submarines, which were also featured for the first time.
The Kh-35 was developed in Russia in the mid-90s and has been exported to Burma, India and Vietnam. It is hard to intercept as it flies 4 to 15 m above the waters.
South Korea's Aegis and other newer destroyers are equipped with rapid-fire machine guns and electronic warfare systems that can intercept or disturb such a missile. But older patrol corvettes or escort ships, whose duties lie mainly near the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border, have no such weapons so the missiles could pose a significant threat to them.
Until recently, the North Korean Navy had only the Styx missile, which was developed in the 50s with a range of 46 km, rising to 80 km in the improved version, and that is vulnerable to electronic jamming.
Military authorities here are reportedly trying to find out where the North bought the Kh-35 missiles, on the assumption that it was clandestinely imported from a third country like Burma.