Guided Missile Frigate Joins South Korean Navy

South Korea's Navy inducted a new guided missile, ‘Daegu’ which uses a hybrid electric drive propulsion system and has stealth characteristics besides anti-submarine warfare capabilities.

According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) it is equipped with a towed array sonar system and Hong Sang Eo long-range anti-submarine torpedos. Other armaments include ship-to-ground, ship-to-ship guided missiles, naval guns and a Phalanx close-in weapon system.

"The Daegu is a warship with greatly improved capabilities to detect or attack such targets as ships and submarines and to defend itself from aircraft and guided missiles, compared with existing frigates and patrol combat corvettes," DAPA said as quoted by Korea Herald.

In addition, it is armed with a ship-to-surface guided missile system to strike major ground targets, added DAPA.

It is the first vessel produced in South Korea's second guided missile frigate acquisition program, code-named Ulsan-class Batch-II. Its construction began in December 2013 by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, a local shipbuilder.

The delivery ceremony was held at its shipyard in Geoje Island, South Gyeongsang Province. The Navy plans to put it in combat operation in the latter half of this year after training a crew and making other preparations.

"The survivability of the Daegu has been maximized as it has stealth design," said Bang Keuk-chul, head of the DAPA's warship program team. "And it's possible to carry out more effective anti-submarine operations with its hybrid propulsion system making less noise."