The Republic of Korea Navy has named its seventh Type 214, 1.800-ton attack submarine, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
Hong Beom-do, as the vessel was officially named is the Korean version of the Type 214 submarine developed by the German ship-builder Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.
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.
A total of nine 65.3-meter submarines known as Son Won-Il-class will be built for South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
Three first-batch submarines have entered service since 2007, while the second-batch submarines are yet to do so.
Apart from South Korea, Portuguese and Hellenic (Greek) Navy also use submarines based on the Type 214 design.