Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

On December 21st, the Navy held a launching ceremony at Yeongdo Shipyard of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction in Busan, for its three 200-ton class patrol-boat killer medium rockets (PKMRs) to be used to defend the country’s coastal waters. The launching ceremony was attended by Park Heon-soo, commander of Naval Logistics, as principal guest; along with Bong Hyun-soo, CEO of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction; officials with the Navy, Defense Acquisition Program Administration; and subcontractors.  

In keeping with nautical tradition, a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a rite to pray for safe sailing were held at the launching ceremony. Launching means putting a vessel on the water for the first time. The Navy had the wife of the principal guest cut the ribbon attached to the vessel using a hatchet. Also, the ‘rite to pray for safe sailing,’ which is when the principal guest couple smash a bottle of champagne against the ship’s hull, followed a traditional method of calming the anger of the gods when a rainstorm broke out in the sea.

The PKMRs will replace the twenty-year-old time-worn patrol killer mediums (PKMs) to carry out coast defense missions.  

The PKMR is significantly stronger than the PKM in terms of mission capabilities because it is mounted with the latest combat system, armed with small electronic warfare equipment and an anti-missile decoy system. In addition, the water jet propeller applied to the PKMR enables smooth operation in shallow waters. The three PKMRs launched on December 21st will be delivered to the Navy at the end of next year after trial anchoring and sailing under the supervision of the shipyard and the Navy. The PKMRs will be deployed in operations after a three-month period of force integration.  

By Su-Yeol, Maeng <guns13@dema.mil.kr >

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