Hanwha Ocean Selected For South Korea Submarine Programme

South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean has been selected by the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) to build one 3,600-tonne submarine in a USD845 million deal, according to the country’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). The submarine is to be the third and final submarine in the Changbogo-III Batch II programme.

Previously known as Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, the firm has been constructing the first two Changbogo-III submarines since 2021 and expects to complete them by 2029 and commissioned into the ROKN by 2031 after two years of test runs.

The Batch-II submarines are larger and weigh more compared to the Batch-I variants, the ROKS Dosan Ahn Changho and ROKS Ahn Mu which are in active service. These submarines utilise a pairing of air-independent propulsion (AIP) system with lithium-ion batteries which can lengthen its operation hours while submerged. Such a combination also cuts down on propulsion noise in comparison to other diesel-electric submarines.

The new submarine is expected to be fitted with an advanced combat system with enhanced detection and targeting capabilities as well as the newest sonar system. shp/adj/dl (Pix:Hanwha Ocean)