The Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy has commissioned its fourth Daegu-class FFX Batch II frigate built by local shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).
The commissioning ceremony was held at Jinhae Naval Base, East of Busan in Southern South Korea on 10 November. The Daegu class or FFX II frigates are an improved version of the Incheon-class (FFX) and are built by DSME and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), respectively.
The class measures 122 meters in length, has an overall beam of 14 metres, a standard displacement of 2,800 tonnes, and a full-loaded displacement of 3,650 tonnes. Each ship in the class is powered by one Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine engine and two Leonardo DRS permanent magnet motors driven by MTU 12 V 4000 diesel-generator sets in a combined diesel-electric or gas (CODLOG) configuration. Each of the ships in the class can attain a maximum speed of 30 knots (about 56 kilometres per hour).
Tha navy officials revealed that the fourth Daegu-class frigate is slated to enter service in mid-2022.
South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) signed contracts with the two companies to build a total of eight second-batch frigates. ROKS Daegu, the first FF-II ship, was launched by DSME in June 2016, while the fifth was launched in May this year.
According to DAPA, FFX-III frigates will be fitted with a phased array radar to detect, track and respond to multiple threats simultaneously and will receive improved anti-submarine and air warfare capability.