[THE INVESTOR] South Korea has started building a 3,000-ton attack submarine, using local technology and know-how as part of its ongoing effort to expand the country’s underwater fighting capabilities, according to the state arms procurement agency July1.

The sub will be the second vessel of the Chang Bogo-III batch 1 ships, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said.

The country aims to build a total of nine ships of this class in three stages.

The batch 1 ships are significant for the country’s Navy because they are all designed and built in the country using local technology. Construction of the first boat of the batch began in November 2014.

The DAPA said it held a ceremony at the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering shipyard earlier in the day to mark the occasion. The shipyard on Geoje Island is located 470 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

The South Korean military said it plans to complete the first batch of three submarines between 2020 and 2024, and the second batch of another three subs with improved capabilities between 2025 and 2027. It has yet to finalize the details for the final three boats.

The batch 1 boats, besides having regular torpedoes to attack ships and other submarines, will have six vertical missile launch tubes that could house the Hyunmoo-2 short-range ballistic missile with a range of 500 km.

The South Korean military plans to deploy new submarines starting in 2020 that will replace its aging fleet of 1,200 ton subs that have been in service since 1992.

The DAPA said that the project will help the South Korean Navy strengthen its maritime capacity against growing threats from North Korea.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)