South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has announced the delivery of the seventh KSS-2 submarine, manufactured by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), to the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy. The Son Won-il class submarine is named Hong Beom-do, after a hero of South Korean independence struggle.
Hong Beom-do is the 7th KSS-2 / Son Won-Il-class submarine of the ROK Navy. Photo: DAPA
The submarine is a Type 214 design, incorporating diesel AIP (Air-Independent) propulsion. Hyundai Heavy Industries has so far built four submarines of the same class and has under construction a fifth. The ROK Navy will put it in combat operations in May after training a crew.
South Korea ordered the first batch of three Type 214 submarines in 2000. A second order was placed in 2009 for an additional six units, which feature improvements in the autonomy provided by the AIP system. Of the total nine, HHI was scheduled to deliver six and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering the rest of them. The ninth and final KSS-2 submarine in the batch Sin Dol-Seok was launched at the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in Ulsan on September 7.
The KSS-2 / Type 214 submarines of the RoKN have a length of 65 m., a beam of 6.3 m, a draught of 6 m. and are capable of reaching a depth of 400 m. Their crew is comprised of 40 people. Their weapons include mines and White Shark torpedoes which are launched from eight 533 mm tubes. "On the basis of superb underwater operation capabilities, it will add to our Navy's underwater firepower, which is inferior to North Korea in number," said Choi Hee-kyung, head of the agency's submarine program team.
The ROK Navy will begin to introduce the follow on 3,000-tons submarine class KSS-III in 2020.
