HD Hyundai Heavy Industries invited the Korean Ministry of National Defense (MND), Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), and Government officials from nine countries all over the world to share the excellence of it submarines and other K-warships including Aegis destroyers and frigates. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shared that it hosted a delivery signing ceremony of the third Batch-1 3,000t submarine, ROKS Shin Chae-ho, at its headquarters located in Ulsan, Korea. Dookyum Kim, Mayor of Ulsan, Sung Il, Deputy Minister of the Office of Military Resources Management at MND, Kyoungho Han, Head of Advanced Capabilities Program Agency at DAPA, Jungho Kang, Commander at the Navy Submarine Force Command, and Wonho Joo, Senior Executive Vice President of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Naval & Special Ship Business Unit (NSSBU) attended the event.
Over twenty Government officials from nine countries also joined the ceremony including Michael L. MacDonald, member of the Canadian Senate, Michael Jacobson CSM, Director General Submarines of the Royal Australian Navy, Paul Duclos, Peruvian Ambassador to Korea, and had the chance to see the excellence of Korean warships in person. After the delivery signing ceremony, all guests visited the ROKS Shin Chae-ho, along with Sejong the Great Aegis destroyer, and Chungnam frigate at the NSSBU yard. The event was especially meaningful as there were guests from different countries such as Canada, Peru, Australia, the Philippines, Poland, that have a high possibility of discussing further K-defense exports. Guests from the US were also present, a country which defense MRO (maintenance, repair, operation) is currently being discussed.
The KSS-III (Korean Submarine-III) or Dosan Ahn Changho-class is a series of diesel-electric attack submarines currently being built for the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN), jointly by Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI). The KSS-III is the final phase of the Korean Attack Submarine program, a three-phased program to build 27 attack submarines for the ROKN, between 1994–2029. The Batch-II series constitutes the second phase of the KSS-III program – and is noted to possess multiple improvements in terms of design, armament and automation, over the Batch-I series. It can also be armed with guided missiles, torpedoes, underwater mines, and can fire SLBMs (Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile) on its vertical launch system, making it a key asset for the marine based underwater kill chain system.
ROKS Shin Chae-ho is the first 3,000t submarine that has been designed and build independently with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries technologies and delivered on time. This has been possible due to the full support and cooperation from DAPA and the Korean Navy. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has been gaining more attention in terms of shipbuilding technologies and business management capabilities as it has been successful in delivering warships on time from the Ulsan class Cheonan and Chuncheon frigates, to today’s ROKS Shin Chae-ho. The submarine has been applied with the latest fuel cell, lead-acid battery propulsion system, and state-of-the-art noise control technologies, boasting significantly improved covert mission capabilities and survivability.
