-April 10, Ulsan-class Batch-Ⅲ No. 1 ship 「Chungnam ship」 launching ceremony held at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan
-The first installation of the state-of-the-art domestically developed complex sensor mast (ISM)
* Equipped with domestically developed 4-side fixed multi-function phased array radar (MFR), infrared detection and tracking equipment
– Expected to play an active role as the main force of defense in the waters under our jurisdiction with enhanced anti-aircraft/anti-submarine capabilities
On the afternoon of April 10, the Navy and Defense Acquisition Program Administration held a launching ceremony for the Ulsan-class Batch-Ⅲ ship 「Chungnam Ship」 at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan.
The Chungnam ship is the first ship of the Ulsan-class Batch-III, which replaces the old frigates (FF) and patrol combat corvette (PCC) in operation in the Navy.
* Chungnam ship number: FFG-828, English name: ROKS CHUNG-NAM
* Batch: Evolutionary performance improvement step of the same type
The Chungnam ship, which is being designed and built in Korea, held a groundbreaking ceremony in 2021 and a groundbreaking ceremony in 2022 after signing a construction contract with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in March 2020. The groundbreaking ceremony is the first process of building a ship, where the steel plate used for the hull is cut.
The ceremony was attended by Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop as the guest of honor, and around 150 people attended, including Navy and Defense Acquisition Program Administration Director Eom Dong-hwan, Defense Acquisition Program Administration Director Eom Dong-hwan, CEO Han Young-seok and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries officials. The ceremony proceeded in the order of national rites, business progress report, ship name declaration, commemorative speech, congratulatory speech, launching ceremony, and prayer ceremony for safe sailing.
According to naval custom, Jemi-young, wife of Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop, who was the guest of honor, cut the launching line connected to the ship. This means that, like cutting the umbilical cord of a newborn baby, it breathes life into a newly dried trap. Afterwards, the guest of honor and the captain of Chungnam conducted a ceremony to pray for a safe voyage by cutting the colored tape with scissors and breaking the champagne into the hull.
In his congratulatory speech, Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop said, “The Chungnam ship with its excellent performance will be an example of building a strong military in science and technology and a solid foundation for a strong maritime force.” I hope you will strengthen practical training and maximize the mental power of defeating the enemy.”
The Navy’s first 3,600-ton frigate, Chungnam, is 129m long, 14.8m wide, and 38.9m high. is equipped with
The Chungnam ship is a ship in which Korea’s excellent defense capabilities are concentrated, with major detection equipment and armament including the battle system, which can be called the brain of the ship, all domestically produced.
In particular, the Chungnam ship was first equipped with a multifunctional phased array radar (MFR) developed with domestic technology. The Chungnam ship’s radar is a four-sided fixed-type phased array radar like the Easy Radar, and it is capable of detecting and tracking omnidirectional anti-aircraft and anti-ship targets and responding to multiple anti-aircraft targets simultaneously. Existing Batch-I (Incheon-class) and Batch-II (Daegu-class) escort ships operate rotational detection radar and tracking radar separately.
In addition, the mast of the ship Chungnam applied ISM (Integrated Sensor Mast) method, which is an integrated state-of-the-art science and technology. The complex sensor mast includes a four-sided fixed multi-function phased array radar and infrared detection and tracking equipment, and has a stealth design.
The propulsion system of ROKS Chungnam minimizes underwater radiated noise by applying the same hybrid propulsion system method as Batch-II (Daegu-class), and operates hull-fixed sonar and towing type sonar (TASS) developed with domestic technology to provide excellent anti-submarine power. I have all my abilities.
The Navy held a ship name establishment committee in November 2022 based on the criteria for enacting ship names that have used the names of special and metropolitan cities and provinces as escort ship names, and enacted the name of the first Ulsan-class Batch-III ship as Chungnam.
* Ulsan-class Batch-Ⅱ 1st ship: Incheon, Ulsan-class Batch-Ⅱ 1st ship: Daegu
The first ship to use the name Chungnam was the DE-821 (destroyer escort) acquired from the US Navy in 1963, and it played an active role in evacuating a former Soviet submarine that entered the waters under our jurisdiction in 1964. The second ship that inherited the name of the Chungnam is the FF-953 ship (escort ship) built with domestic technology. The second Chungnam ship completed her first round-the-world cruise training in 1992, and she retired in 2017 after playing a key role in protecting the ocean.
Bang Geuk-cheol (high-ranking official), head of the Naval Business Department at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, said, “Ship Chungnam is a state-of-the-art escort ship equipped with a multi-functional phased array radar based on domestic advanced science and technology. “It is expected to contribute to defense exports by proving the excellence of domestic warship building capabilities globally.”
Captain Lee Gyeong-jin (Lieutenant Colonel) said, “All crew members are members of the Chungnam ship with a proud history and tradition. If we fight with pride, we will establish a decisive battle posture that will ensure victory. I will firmly defend it,” he said.
The Chungnam ship will go through a test evaluation period and be delivered to the Navy at the end of December 2024, after which it will be operationally deployed through a power-up process.