This file photo, taken June 7, 2023, shows a model of South Korea’s next-generation KDDX destroyer displayed at the International Maritime Defense Industry Exhibition in Busan. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean shipbuilding titan HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. said Wednesday it has recently completed the basic design for the country’s next-generation Aegis destroyer.
It comes three years after HD Hyundai Heavy was chosen as the preferred bidder for the Korea Destroyer Next Generation (KDDX) project to build a 6,000 ton-class Aegis destroyer.
The envisioned destroyer is expected to become the Navy’s future strategic asset, which could match its most powerful Aegis destroyer, the 7,100-ton King Sejong the Great, HD Hyundai Heavy said.
The warship will be powered completely by electricity with a super-large 25-megawatt propulsion motor, the first among local warships.
HD Hyundai Heavy also said the basic design has succeeded in materializing a “crew-saving platform” with an automated ammunition movement facility, a smart steering house and an advanced navigation support system based on autonomous navigation technology.
With the basic design completed, the shipyard said, it is planning to come up with a detailed design and build a guide ship before delivering the destroyer following a test run.
HD Hyundai Heavy, however, did not unveil a specific timetable.
In 2008, HD Hyundai Heavy built the first destroyer under Seoul’s acquisition program to construct three high-tech destroyers in an effort to bolster defense against North Korea’s evolving military capabilities.
The 7,100-ton King Sejong the Great is named after the monarch of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) who invented the Korean alphabet Hangeul.
In July 2021, the shipbuilder launched The Jeongjo the Great destroyer, named after a visionary king of the dynasty, the second warship built as part of the program.
HD Hyundai Heavy is one of the three subsidiaries of Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co., a subholding company of shipbuilding, oil refining and machinery conglomerate HD Hyundai.
(Yonhap)
