A launch ceremony for the Jeongjo the Great destroyer takes place at a Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. shipyard in Ulsan, some 310 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in this July 28, 2022, file photo. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The Navy will receive a new 8,200-ton destroyer armed with an advanced missile interception platform next week, officials said Wednesday, in a move expected to help bolster the military’s air defense capabilities against North Korean missiles.
The Navy will receive the Jeongjo the Great destroyer, named after a visionary king of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), in a ceremony to be held in Ulsan, some 310 kilometers southeast of Seoul, next Wednesday, according to Navy officials.
A launch ceremony for the high-tech warship took place in July 2022.
The 170-meter-long, 21-meter-wide destroyer is equipped with radar-evading functions and the newest Aegis combat system capable of not only detecting and tracking ballistic missiles but also intercepting them.
The warship will be fitted with the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) ship-based surface-to-air missile system that is capable of intercepting incoming ballistic missiles at altitudes above 100 kilometers.
In April, the state arms procurement agency said its weapons program review committee approved a plan to acquire the SM-3s through government-to-government foreign military sales.
The Jeongjo the Great destroyer is the first of three 8,200-ton Aegis destroyers that Seoul aims to acquire under the Gwanggaeto-III Batch-II project. It is South Korea’s fourth Aegis destroyer after the ROKS King Sejong the Great, the ROKS Yulgok Yi I and the ROKS Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong.
(Yonhap)
