Today, Friday (13 August), the South Korean Navy launched the first submarine of the Dosan-Ahn-Changho-class went into service. The boat has been built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in Geoje since 2016. With a length of 83.5 metres, the type ship of the class displaces around 3360 tonnes above water and 3750 tonnes under water, and is crewed by around 50 people.
For the boats of the Dosan-Ahn-Changhoclass is a Korean in-house development. In addition to six 533-millimetre torpedo tubes, the armament also includes a vertical launching system with six tubes from which cruise missiles can be fired, according to officially unconfirmed information. There is speculation as to whether South Korea now also has self-developed ballistic missiles that could also be launched via the VLS. Two more submarines of this class are currently under construction. A total of four boats of this type are to be built, one of them not at the DSME shipyard but at Hyundai Heavy Industries. Around three quarters of all components and systems were manufactured in the country.
In a year's time, the Dosan-Ahn-Changho will set sail on a mission for the first time. With the new boats, South Korea has catapulted itself into the league of a handful of countries that can develop and build submarines themselves.
Text: mb; Photos: South Korean Navy
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But is this really a Korean in-house development? TKMS had U-214 built under licence in Korea by DSME & HHI from 2006-2017. Subsequently, these companies built Dosan-Ahn-Changho class, also with AIP and very similar design. That looks like technology transfer, intentional or not.