South Korean navy FFX-ⅲ frigate "Chungnam"

The first ship of South Korea's third batch of FFX ocean-going frigates, Chungnam, was launched geometrically.

Yonhap News Agency reported that the first ship of the South Korean navy FFX-III frigate "Chungnam" was officially launched at Hyundai Heavy Industry Group Ulsan Shipyard. Traditionally, this class ship was named Chungnam class missile frigate, which is the third batch of models in the FFX ocean-going frigate construction plan, and it is also the first-class frigate with the largest displacement, the strongest firepower and the most advanced technology of the South Korean navy. Six ships are planned to be built. In the future, this type of ship, together with the first two types of FFX frigates, will constitute the ocean-going combat force of the South Korean Navy.

Huge FFX shipbuilding plan

The South Korean Navy has always attached importance to the development of frigates, and built three types of light frigates in the 1980s and 1990s. However, due to their small tonnage and weak firepower, these frigates are only used as patrol ships to guard the offshore.

1998 10, the south Korean navy formally put forward the FFX ocean-going frigate plan, requiring the new generation of frigates not only to perform traditional offshore patrol tasks, but also to join the surface ship formation to perform ocean-going combat tasks.

The FFX ocean-going frigate is planned to be installed in three batches, namely Incheon class, Daegu class and Chungnam class. South Korea's shipbuilding industry has built six Incheon-class and eight Daegu-class frigates. With the launch of the last Daegu-class "Chuncheon" in March 2022, the second batch of construction plans for the FFX ocean-going frigate project came to an end.

The South Korean Navy launched the third batch of frigate construction plan in 2020, and named the first FFX-III frigate after Chungcheongnam-do. It is reported that the FFX-III frigate was jointly built by Hyundai Heavy Industry and SK Ocean Factory, and all six frigates will be completed between 2023 and 2027.

Known as "the strongest frigate"

Korean media reported that the standard displacement of the "Chungnam" frigate was 3,600 tons, exceeding the Daegu class, and the full-load displacement reached 4,000 tons, making it the largest frigate of the South Korean Navy.

Chungnam frigate is an upgraded version of Daegu frigate. The power system of the first ship "Zhongnan" follows the Daegu-class diesel-fuel combined power system with a maximum speed of 30 knots. At the same time, it has a larger hull and better seaworthiness.

The bow of "Zhongnan" frigate is equipped with 127mm American MK45 Mod.4 main gun, which can launch extended-range guided projectiles to attack sea and ground targets. Two 8-pack K-VLS vertical launchers are arranged behind the main gun, which can launch Red Shark anti-submarine missiles and Tianlong land attack cruise missiles, and also launch Tiangong improved ship-to-air missiles.

The latter has a maximum range of 150 km and a maximum shooting height of 30 km, and has the ability to intercept short-range ballistic missiles. It is the first frigate in South Korea with regional anti-missile interception capability. At the same time, the ship also has two sets of 4-pack SSM-700K starfish anti-ship missiles, two sets of 3-pack MK-32 torpedo launchers, six K-745 Blue Shark 324 mm anti-submarine torpedoes, 1 "dense array" near-defense weapon system.

The biggest feature of "Zhongnan" frigate is that it is equipped with a new dual-band active phased array radar, with a detection distance of 450 kilometers, and its performance far exceeds that of the light phased array radar carried on the super-advanced frigate. Coupled with the ability to launch long-range ship-to-air interceptor missiles, Chungnam was called "the strongest frigate" by the Korean media.

Who is stronger in Japanese and Korean frigates?

Like South Korea, a large number of new frigates have been built, as well as neighboring Japan. Japan's top missile frigate has been launched, with a full displacement of 5,500 tons and a stealth design. So, who is stronger, Chungnam or the highest level?

In terms of ocean-going performance, the highest level is dominant. Top-class and Chungnam-class are new frigates of Japan and South Korea for ocean-going operations, respectively. The length-width ratio of the top-class hull is 8. 15, and that of the Zhongnan class is 8.7 1. Generally speaking, the greater the aspect ratio of a hull, the faster its sailing speed. Disadvantages are poor mobility and weak ability to resist wind and waves. In addition, the center of gravity of the mid-south class ship is high, so the seaworthiness is worse.

In terms of air defense and anti-missile, Zhongnan is better. Both the top level and Chungnam level are equipped with dual-band active phased array radar. Top OPY-2 X-band radar and FCS-3A C-band radar adopt independent antennas and are arranged in eight arrays, which can track and monitor more targets. With the support of these two radars, the ship has strong multi-target engagement ability and is good at saturation attack.

As a regional air defense ship, Chungnam's radar pays more attention to the detection and tracking of long-range and high-speed targets, including ballistic missiles. In addition, the improved ship-to-air missile "Tiangong" has the advantages of range and shooting height, so the ship has stronger regional air defense and anti-missile capabilities.

In other respects, the two types of ships have their own strengths. The main guns of Chungnam class and the highest class are made in the United States, MK45 Mod.4 127mm naval guns. The Chungnam-class Starfish anti-ship missile has a longer range, has the ability to attack land targets, and its performance is slightly better.

In anti-submarine warfare, these two kinds of ships are equipped with active/passive sonar system and low-frequency towed array sonar system, equipped with anti-submarine missiles and torpedoes. The difference is that the highest level has the ability of mine warfare, which can not only carry out mine-laying operations, but also use unmanned surface boats for anti-mine operations. In contrast, the Chungnam class with a small cabin does not have this ability.