HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) delivered its industry-leading Aegis destroyer ‘Jeongjo the Great’ to the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy. Following the signing ceremony, the delegates visited the cutting-edge frigate ‘Chungnam’, which is scheduled for delivery to the ROK Navy next month.
Among the visiting nations, Poland and Peru are emerging as strong potential customers for Korean defence export. The maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) cooperation with the US has also been reviewed.
‘Jeongjo the Great’ is the fourth Aegis destroyer of the ROK, independently developed and built using Korea’s domestic technology. The ship is equipped with the latest Aegis combat management system (CMS), multi-function phased array radar, integrated sonar system independently developed by HHI, Korea’s vertical launch system (VLS), and ballistic missile interceptors capable of not only detecting and tracking ballistic missiles but also intercepting them.
HHI signed the building contract for ‘Jeongjo the Great’ with DAPA in 2019. This was followed by the steel cutting ceremony in 2021 and launching ceremony on July 28th, 2022. The ship successfully passed all 550 demanding trial tests including maximum speed evaluation, and then delivered to the Navy on time. On-time delivery highlights HHI’s competitiveness, showcasing its technical capability, cost efficiency, and adherence to delivery timelines. It marks the fourth on-time delivery following those of Ulsan-Class frigates ‘Cheonan’ and ‘Chuncheon’, 3,000-ton submarine ‘Shin Chae-ho’.
“It’s a great honour for HHI to successfully deliver the top-class Aegis destroyer ‘Jeongjo the Great.’ It is a result of our evolving cooperation with affiliated organizations, including DAPA, the ROK Navy, Agency for Defense Development (ADD), Defense Agency for Technology and Quality (DTaQ), and others. HHI remains committed to contributing to Korea’s defence exports with the ‘Team Korea, Team Ship’ efforts alongside government organisations.” said HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Head of Naval and Special Ship, Joo Won Ho.
HHI is finalising the construction of the second ship of the ‘Jeongjo the Great’, which is set to be launched the next year, and began construction of the third ship last October. Additionally, HHI is leading naval ship exports with the Philippine Navy’s corvette scheduled for delivery next year, and the commencement of local cooperative development for four vessels for the Peruvian Navy.
‘Jeongjo the Great’ is the Aegis destroyer, developed and constructed independently using Korea’s domestic technology. The full displacement of the 11,000-ton ‘Jeongjo the Great’ has increased from that of the 10,000-ton Aegis destroyer Batch-Ⅰ, but the stealth capability for the survivability of the ship has enhanced.
‘Jeongjo the Great’ has completed high level of trial tests to accomplish the integration of the Aegis CMS adopted from the U.S. and the components developed from the ROK. It is said that the successful test completion of ‘Jeongjo the Great’ resulted from the harmonious cooperation system with affiliated organizations that participated in the test including DAPA, DTaQ combined with the expertise of HHI’s Integrated Test Team (ITT), the only team of its kind in South Korea.
‘Jeongjo the Great’ is equipped with the latest Aegis CMS, multi-function phased array radar, integrated sonar system independently developed by HHI, Korea’s vertical launch system (VLS-Ⅱ), and MH-60R maritime operation helicopter to successfully execute long-term attacks to major strategic targets including ballistic missiles, and to enhance the detection capability for underwater threats such as submarines.
The ship has two additional Hybrid Electric Drives (HED) along with the existing four gas turbine engines to enhance ASW mission capabilities as well as to enable economic operations. Being the symbol of a cutting-edge destroyer and the country’s strategic asset equipped with the latest Aegis CMS capable of detection, tracking, and the attack for the ballistic missiles, ‘Jeongjo the Great’ is expected to operate as the key capability of the maritime-based three-axis defence system.
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