Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

The next FFG, ‘Gangwon Ham,’ a powerful ship for safer Korean territorial waters

Domestic offensive weapons such as ship-to-ship guided missile and light torpedoes

Excellent anti-aircraft and anti-submarine ability…enhancing North Korea deterrence

20 frigates to be deployed by the mid 2020s

The fourth FFG(Guided Missile Frigate), ‘Gangwon Ham’, to protect our territorial waters, was launched at a shipyard of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do on August 12.

The launch ceremony was attended by Gangwon Province Governor Choi Mun-sun as the guest of honor, Vice Admiral Eom Hyun-sung, the vice chief of naval operations, navy sailors, the CEO of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Jung Sung-leep and other shipyard-related officials.

The launching ceremony will float a warship mounted with equipment and weapons systems to the water for the first time. As a traditional Navy launching ceremony, it was held beginning with the pledge of allegiance to the nation, a progress report for ship-building, the announcement of the name of the ship, a tape-cutting ceremony and champagne bottle breaking.

Rear Admiral Choi Yang-sun, the first deputy chief of staff for planning and management in the Navy Headquarters, named the next fourth frigate ’Gangwon’ and assigned ’814’ as the ship number through the denomination No.460.

Following that, as the wife of Governor Choi, Mrs. Lee Sun-woo, cut the launching tape connected to the platform with the Ganwon Ham with a small hatchet, the five-colored confetti floated about in the air and a whistle was sounded. The ceremony closed with the ceremonial breaking of a champagne bottle to wish for a safe voyage.

The next frigate will be the backup force for the frigate FF and patrol corvette PCC which are in operations in the East, West and South coastal areas. 20 frigates are going to be built and deployed by the mid 2020s to be fully prepared for the threat of North Korea.

The navy named the fourth frigate ’Gangwon,’ with the will to provide a total defense of the East Sea. The next frigates have been named after the metropolitan city, province and the seat of a provincial government.

’Gangwon Ham’ is the third time to be named. The first destroyer escorts(DE-72) in the 1,200-ton class and the second destroyer(DD-922) in 3,400-ton class played an active part in 1950s~1970s and 1970s~1990s respectively. These 2 Gangwon Hams were imported from the US. As a main combat ship of the navy at that time, it made a significant contribution not only by sinking a patrol ship that crossed the NLL of the East Sea but also a parent ship of a spy boat that penetrated into the coast of Ulleungdo in 1983.　

Excellent anti-ship, anti-aircraft and anti-submarine ability

Gangwon Ham, which is in the 2,300-ton class, is 114m in length, 14m in width and 25m in height. Its maximum speed is up to 30 knots (55.5km/h), and it can hold about 120 sailors. Its main duty is to defend areas of the sea, secure the maritime control and protect sea traffic routes.

It is equipped with domestic offensive weapons such as ship-to-ship guided missile, Haeseong, and the submarine killer light torpedo, Chung Sang Eo, including a 5-inch(127mm) main gun. Having RAM(Rolling Airframe Missile) and CIWS(Closed in Weapon System), which is capable of intercepting an antiship missile, it has the best level of defense.

It is also expected to make a great contribution to countering the North Korean threat with its excellent antisubmarine warfare, as it is equipped with TACM(Torpedo Acoustic Counter Measure), which can trick the latest sonar or torpedoes, and 1 LYNX. In addition, it applies the stealth method to the body of the ship, which minimizes the radar cross-section, to increase the survival of the ship and of its sailors as well.

The rate of domestic main equipment, in particular, is far beyond 90%, and includes 3D track and scan radar, Sonar, medium long-range tactical strike weapons system, etc.

The Gangwon Ham will be handed over in the second half of 2015 after going through a period of acceptance evaluation and successfully completing a 4-month force integration process, and the navy is going to deploy the ship in 2016.

“The next frigate will allow our defense ability for near sea to be improved so that North Korean threats can be deterred. If the enemy provokes us, we’ll instantly punish them and bury them at sea,” said a navy spokesperson.

By Byeong No, Yun < trylover@dema.mil.kr >
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