ID :
30227
Fri, 11/14/2008 - 15:57
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/30227
The shortlink copeid
Seoul launches second Aegis destroyer
By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea launched on Friday the second of three Aegis destroyers planned under a multi-billion dollar defense reform project, one year after it became the world's fifth nation to have such a high-tech warship, the Navy said.
The destroyer, named after one of Korea's most prominent Confucian scholars,
Yulgok Yi I (1536-1584), is expected to be commissioned in 2011 following
yearlong test operations, it said.
The Navy vessel was launched in a ceremony attended by Defense Minister Lee
Sang-hee, Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Jung Ok-geun and other officials, according to
the Navy. The ceremony was held at a dockyard operated by the ship's South Korean
manufacturer, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., in Geojae, some 500
kilometers south of Seoul.
Aegis is an integrated weapons control system that allows ships to detect over
1,000 surface, underwater and aerial targets within a 500 kilometer radius
simultaneously and destroy any target within a 150 kilometer radius.
Seoul launched its first-ever Aegis destroyer, King Sejong, last year. It is set
to be commissioned in 2010.
Under a 620 trillion won (US$440 billion) project, dubbed Defense Reform 2020,
the South Korean Navy is set to have at least three Aegis destroyers by 2012.
"The Navy has signed a contract this year with Hyundai Heavy Industries to build
the third KDX-III by 2012," a Navy official said. The third Aegis destroyer has
been tentatively named "Kwon Yul" after a Korean Army general from the Joseon
Dynasty who led the famous battle of Haengju during Japan's invasion of Korea in
the late 16th century, according to the official.
Seoul is currently considering building three additional Aegis destroyers to
bring the total number to six, the official said, asking not to be identified.
"Aegis destroyer Yulgok Yi I has the world's top class anti-ship, anti-aircraft
and anti-submarine capabilities, which will significantly boost the country's
naval defense capabilities," the Navy said in a statement.
With a displacement of 7,600 tons, a South Korean Aegis destroyer can carry up to
two helicopters, as well as various ship-to-ship and ship-to-air guided missiles
that can be fired simultaneously at up to 20 targets.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea launched on Friday the second of three Aegis destroyers planned under a multi-billion dollar defense reform project, one year after it became the world's fifth nation to have such a high-tech warship, the Navy said.
The destroyer, named after one of Korea's most prominent Confucian scholars,
Yulgok Yi I (1536-1584), is expected to be commissioned in 2011 following
yearlong test operations, it said.
The Navy vessel was launched in a ceremony attended by Defense Minister Lee
Sang-hee, Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Jung Ok-geun and other officials, according to
the Navy. The ceremony was held at a dockyard operated by the ship's South Korean
manufacturer, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., in Geojae, some 500
kilometers south of Seoul.
Aegis is an integrated weapons control system that allows ships to detect over
1,000 surface, underwater and aerial targets within a 500 kilometer radius
simultaneously and destroy any target within a 150 kilometer radius.
Seoul launched its first-ever Aegis destroyer, King Sejong, last year. It is set
to be commissioned in 2010.
Under a 620 trillion won (US$440 billion) project, dubbed Defense Reform 2020,
the South Korean Navy is set to have at least three Aegis destroyers by 2012.
"The Navy has signed a contract this year with Hyundai Heavy Industries to build
the third KDX-III by 2012," a Navy official said. The third Aegis destroyer has
been tentatively named "Kwon Yul" after a Korean Army general from the Joseon
Dynasty who led the famous battle of Haengju during Japan's invasion of Korea in
the late 16th century, according to the official.
Seoul is currently considering building three additional Aegis destroyers to
bring the total number to six, the official said, asking not to be identified.
"Aegis destroyer Yulgok Yi I has the world's top class anti-ship, anti-aircraft
and anti-submarine capabilities, which will significantly boost the country's
naval defense capabilities," the Navy said in a statement.
With a displacement of 7,600 tons, a South Korean Aegis destroyer can carry up to
two helicopters, as well as various ship-to-ship and ship-to-air guided missiles
that can be fired simultaneously at up to 20 targets.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
