ROK Navy’s Seventh Class 214 Submarine Launched
Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has launched South Korea’s seventh KSS-II 1,800-ton submarine, Hong Beom-do, at its Special & Naval Shipbuilding Division in Ulsan, South Korea.
The launching ceremony of the Class 214 diesel-electric air independent propulsion (AIP) submarine was attended by Admiral Jung Ho-sub, chief of naval operations of the ROK Navy; Kwon Oh-gap, president and CEO of HHI; and other guests.
The Class 214 AIP submarine, measuring 65 meters in length and 7 meters 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 400 meters deep and last for two weeks under water with fuel cells. The submarine is loaded with long-range submarine-to-ground cruise missiles developed by Korea’s own technology, torpedoes and mines featuring an automatic simultaneous target tracking system and a torpedo guidance and detection system.
The submarine was named after Hong Beom-do, a commander-in-chief of Korean Independence Army, who achieved the most splendid victory during the colonial period HHI undertook the duty to build six of nine 1,800-ton submarines procured by ROK Navy under the KSS-II Project. The ninth submarine is under construction from February 2014 at the Special & Naval Shipbuilding Division.
The ROK Navy’s seventh submarine will be delivered to the Korean Navy by July 2017 after seaborne operational trials.
