South Korean Navy to launch new frigate

SEOUL (BNS): South Korea will launch a new frigate armed with guided missiles and a high-tech radar system this week, according to a report.

The launch ceremony for the new frigate ‘Incheon’ named after a South Korean western port city will be held on Friday at a shipyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, a Yonhap report quoting navy officials said.

This will be first of the 20 frigates to be built by 2020 under a naval buildup project ‘FFX.’ The new frigate will be put into service in mid-2013, the report said.

The 2,300-ton frigate will be equipped with Raytheon’s Phalanx Close-in Weapon System. The rapid-fire, computer-controlled radar and 20-mm gun system is designed to shoot down anti-ship cruise missiles and helicopters at short range.

The 114-meter long frigate can carry an anti-submarine helicopter and guided weapons, including homegrown anti-submarine Cheonsangeo (Blue Shark) torpedoes, it said.