S. Korea Launches 2nd Aegis Destroyer

S. Korea Launches 2nd Aegis Destroyer (NSI News Source Info) SEOUL - November 15, 2008: South Korea's navy on Nov. 14 launched its second of three planned 7,600-ton Sejong the Great-class Aegis destroyers. The KDX-III ship, armed with the up-to-date Aegis air warfare defense system, is the core of the Navy's future "strategic mobile squadrons" consisting of 14,000-ton Dokdo-class landing platform vessels, 4,300-ton KDX-II Gwanggaeto the Great-class destroyers, 1,800-ton Type 214 submarines and other support vessels and anti-submarine Lynx helicopters, Navy officials said. The modernized squadrons will enable South Korea to conduct blue-water operations both independently and jointly with its allies for purposes such as securing sea lanes for energy supplies, peacekeeping and control of maritime disputes with neighboring countries, they said. The Navy plans to create a mobile squadron in 2010 and wants at least two more with the commissioning of additional Aegis destroyers, they said. The lead ship launched in May last year is to be operational with the Navy starting next month, and the second vessel will be in service next year after sea trials, the Navy said in a news release. A ceremony marking the launch of the second KDX-III ship, named after Yi I, a prominent Confucian scholar of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), was held at a shipyard of Daewoon Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering on Geoje Island, about 500 kilometers south of Seoul, it said. "I believe Aegis destroyers fitted with state-of-the-art radar and air warfare defense systems will help safeguard our nation and ocean successfully," President Lee Myung-bak said in his congratulatory message, read by Adm. Jung Ok-keun, the chief of naval operations, during the ceremony. "With the commissioning of the Aegis ships, I hope our military diplomacy will be further expanded." The Aegis combat system, built by Lockheed Martin, is the world's premier surface-to-air and fire-control system, capable of simultaneous operations against aircraft, ballistic and cruise missiles, ships and submarines. Only a few countries, such as the U.S., Spain, Japan and Norway, operate Aegis warships. The KDX-III destroyer can carry two midsized helicopters and sail at a top speed of 30 knots within a range of 1,000 kilometers. It can carry 300 crew members. The ship's SPY-1D radar can track some 1,000 aircraft within a 500-kilometer radius simultaneously, providing full 360-degree coverage. The 166-meter-long, 21-meter-wide ship can carry about 120 missiles and torpedoes in its Mk 41 Vertical Launch System and domestically-built Korea Vertical Launch System. Missiles equipping the ship include ship-to-air SM-2 Block IIIA/B Tactical Standard missiles, built by Raytheon Systems, with a range of 170 kilometers; Cheonryong (sky dragon) ship-to-surface cruise missiles with a range of more than 500 kilometers; and Hongsangeo (red shark) long-range ship-to-submarine torpedoes with a target range of 19 kilometers. Other major armaments include the 150-kilometer-range Hae Seong (sea star) ship-to-ship missiles, RAM Mk 31 guided missiles, a 30-mm "Goalkeeper'" system for engaging incoming sea-skimming anti-ship missiles, and a 5-inch/62-caliber Mk 45 Mod 4 lightweight gun. The $1 billion stealthy destroyer is also equipped with the domestically-built SLQ-200(V) SONATA electronic warfare system.