HTMS Bhumbol Adulyadej (FFG-471), previously known as HTMS Tachin is a modified version of the South Korea-made DW 3000F class. The high-performance stealth frigate was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering’s (DSME’s) under a US$410 million contract from August 2013. HTMS Bhumibol Adulyadej is the first of two ships to be built for Royal Thai Navy (RTN. The second vessel in the class is to be built locally under a transfer of technology agreement.
The ship is an enhanced derivative of the Gwanggaeto the Great-class destroyer, equipped with DW-3000F class stealth technology, and built to the standards of both the US military and South Korea. The name “Bhumibol Adulyadej” was given to ship by H.M. King Rama X, which was also his father’s and the late King Rama IX’s name. Its sister ship will be assembled locally in RTN’s Mahidol Adulyadej Naval Dockyard via technology transfer.
The DW3000 multipurpose frigate was officially delivered to the Royal Thai Navy in a ceremony in December after being launched in January 2017. Previously known as Tachin, Bhumibol Adulyadej is based on the South Korean KDX-1 destroyer design, measures 122.5 meters in length and has a crew of 136. The frigate displaces 3,650 tons and is expected to be equipped with a 76mm gun, an 8-cell vertical launch system, Harpoon anti-ship missile launchers, a Phalanx close-in weapon system, and decoy launchers.
