The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) on Monday received its sixth KSS-II (Type 214) submarine from South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).
Named ‘Yu Gwan-sun’ after the famed South Korean independence leader, the 1,800-tonne vessel will bear pennant number 078 once it is commissioned.
The new submarine is scheduled to be commissioned in December after crew training is completed.
Yu Gwan-sun is the sixth of nine KSS-II class submarines planned to be built in the second of three phases of the South Korean attack submarine program. The country will operate some 27 submarines once the program is completed.
The first phase, KSS-I or Chang Bogo class as the lead vessel is named, was completed with all nine submarines in operational status. The KSS-I submarines are based on the Type 209 design from the German Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH.
The KSS-II submarines are 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.
With a length of 65 meters and width of 6.3 meters, the KSS-II submarines displace 1.800 tonnes and have a crew of 40.