Thales to overhaul Goalkeeper close-in weapon systems on S. Korean KDX-I destroyers

Thales has joined forces with the South Korean defense contractor LiG Nex1 to overhaul Goalkeeper close-in weapon systems on board the KDX-I class vessels of the Republic of Korea Navy.

Thales noted that the overhaul would be carried out by Thales in close cooperation with DMI (the Naval Maintenance organisation of the Netherlands Ministry of Defence) and LIGNex1.

Goalkeeper is a Dutch automatic weapon system designed and manufactured by Thales Nederland and used by a number of the world’s navies.

The latest contract follows on from contracts between LiG Nex1 and Thales for the overhaul of the MW08 and STIR 2.4 radars onboard KDX-II Wang Geon.

According to the company, the current overhauls will be carried out in conjunction with LiG Nex1 in Korea and will include the construction of a dedicated workshop. LiG Nex1 and Thales are expecting to sign further overhaul contracts for the other vessels of the KDX-I class.

Patrick Defranoux, country director for Thales in Korea said: “Thales is proud of the opportunity to work with Korean industry to upgrade equipment and by so doing, to serve the best interests of the Korean Navy.”