KSS-II Class
The ROK Navy initially worked with both French and German shipyards in the design and acquisition of ROK Navy’s next submarine, KSS-II. Six units of the SSU class were initially planned, before a plan to introduce 2-6 ex-Russian Kilo SS was floated. However in late 2000 three Type 214 had been selected.
The Ministry of National Defense decided on three of the German company HDW's Type 214 submarines as the design model of the KSS-II project. This ship will be in the 1800-ton range and will have Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) engineering plant. The submarines will be about 65 meters long and 6 meters wide. They can submerse to a depth of up to 400 meters and will be outfitted with 8 torpedo tubes and Surface-to-Surface Missile (SSM). With a crew of 27 to 35 members each, the new subs will carry out underwater operations for a maximum of two weeks at a time. Roughly one trillion won will be budgeted for the costs of constructing the three advanced ships by 2009.
The Ministry of Defense made a final selection of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) Co., Ltd. as the main contractor to build three submarines under the the KSS-II project. After receiving all bids and looking at the results of its numerous inspections teams, the Defense Ministry's final decision for Hyundai ended the fierce bidding rivalry with Daewoo Shipbuilding. Daewoo Shipbuilding had enjoyed a virtual monopoly in the nation's submarine industry until early 1999, when the Defense Ministry allowed Hyundai to participate in its submarine project through open competition.
Daewoo Shipbuilding had suffered a financial crunch since its parent conglomerate, Daewoo Group, collapsed following the national financial crisis at the end of 1997. The Ministry cited Hyundai's firm financial structure and favorable terms as key consideration in its decision. HHI will be aided by technical and design provisions from HDW and will construct many sections of the ship domestically. With the transfer of new design technologies from HDW on this project, HHI will be able to construct future submarine projects independently.
According to the transcript of the national assembly's meeting of 05 April 2006, South Korea's submarine plan was changed in December 2005 from 9 Type 209s, 3 Type 214s, and 12 "SSX" (indigenous 3,000-ton submarines) to 9 Type 209s, 9 Type 214s, and 9 "KX-3" submarines. The Korean name for the SSX is Jangbogo-III. The Type 214 is called Jangbogo-II [Chang Bogo].
The Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) is one of the recent innovations that have captured the attention and won the admiration of the submarine world. After lengthy studies and discussions it is now the accepted wisdom that the fuel cell systems are the ideal solution for air independent propulsion of conventional (i.e. non-nuclear) submarines. The main reason is that they meet the highest demands in terms of ensuring both an extremely efficient energy conversion and the lowest possible signatures.
With the handover of the 1,700-ton Son Won Il in December 2007, South Korea became the third nation after Germany and Italy that operates submarines powered by a combined diesel-electric and fuel cell propulsion. The second Type 214 ROKS Jeong Ji was launched on 13 June 2007 and entered service in November 2008. On 28 November 2008 the Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries Ltd. Co delivered within the agreed time the second of three Class 214 submarines to the national procurement agency DAPA. Thereupon the South Korean Navy took over command of “Yung Yi” on 2nd December 2008. The third unit followed suit in the same manner (launched in June 2008 to be operational in November/December 2009). Design and major components are provided by TKMS-shipyard HDW of Kiel, Germany, but assembly, integration and testing is performed in South Korea at the Hyundai Heavy Indstries Ltd. Co. shipyard in Ulsan.
As for the next six Type 214s, Daewoo and Hyundai will build three each alternately and the last unit is to be operational by 2017. So the first of the next six should enter service by 2012 and probably completed by 2010.
The design and major components of the submarine were provided by the Kiel shipyard Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW), a company of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. The Class 214 submarines for South Korea are being built under licence from HDW at the Hyundai Heavy Industries Ltd. Co. shipyard in Ulsan (South Korea).
The new submarine has a displacement of approximately 1,700 tons, is 65 meters long and operated by a regular crew of 27 men. It has a combined diesel-electric and fuel cell propulsion system. Equipped with ultra-modern sensors and an integrated Command and Weapon Control System, it is optimally suited to its future reconnaissance and surveillance tasks. Beside Germany and Italy, South Korea is the third country operating submarines with the revolutionary HDW fuel cell propulsion system.
A 3000-4000 ton follow on class is planned.
