S.Korea Upgrades Combat Capability of 3200-Ton Destroyer

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Wednesday it upgraded combat system and target detection capabilities of the navy’s Yan Manchun 3200-ton destroyer.

The warship was delivered to the Navy at the Jinhae naval base in the southeastern city of Changwon.

The vessel can now handle three times as much data on targets at a speed 100 times faster than the previous version, the arms procurement agency said.

It is first of three KDX-I (Gwanggaeto the Great-class) destroyers to be upgraded under the Navy's modernization project launched in 2016. The other two ships will be upgraded by next year.

Gwanggaeto the Great-class destroyers

The KDX-I ships are built by Daewoo Heavy Industries. The primary weapon deployed by Gwanggaeto the Great-class vessels is the Super Lynx helicopter, which acts in concert with shipboard sensors to seek out and destroy submarines at long distances from the ships. They also carry a close-in anti-submarine weapon in the form of the Mark 46 torpedoes, launched from triple torpedo tubes in launcher compartments either side of the forward end of the helicopter hangar. A secondary anti-shipping role is supported by RGM-84 Harpoon surface-to-surface missile. For anti-aircraft self-defense, it carries 16 RIM-7P Sea Sparrow. This class of destroyers also carry two 30mm Goalkeeper to provide a shipboard point-defense against incoming anti-ship missiles and aircraft. The main gun on the forecastle is an OTO Melara 127 gun.