[U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class David A. Levy]
A sophisticated home-made combat system developed for South Korea's new 3,000-ton Chang Bogo-class submarine with indigenous technology has passed a provisional military assessment, a state agency said.
The system requires the Defense Ministry's final operational test and evaluation, along with other home-made equipment such as Sonar, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
The submarine combat system integrates and processes various information for navigation and combat.It serves as a brain to operate torpedoes and missiles by processing information from various sensors such as sonar and radar.
South Korea has a three-phase project to develop a fleet of submarines. Through the first phase, nine 1,200-ton diesel-electric subs have been built under license. The second phase calls for the construction of six 214 hybrid diesel-electric/fuel cell vessels.
Through the third phase, nine 3,000-ton subs will be built with indigenous technologies. The first 3,000-ton sub will make its debut next year to mark the completion of independent technology development.
"The development of combat and sonar systems, which are core elements for the 3,000-ton Chang Bogo III submarines under construction with our independent technology has been almost completed," the state agency in charge of military procurement said in a statement.
The successful development of key equipment will help South Korea reduce "cost and time" considerably for the operation and maintenance of submarines, it said.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
