South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has laid the keel of a new guided-missile destroyer ordered by the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN).
The vessel will be the second unit of three ships under Batch II of the ROKN's Sejong the Great-class destroyers. The future ROKS Jeongjo the Great is undergoing testing and evaluation ahead of its delivery in the second half of this year while the third and final ship is scheduled to start construction by the end of this year.
The destroyer is scheduled to be launched in 2025 and will be delivered to the navy by the end of 2026.
As with its Batch II sisters, the destroyer will have a displacement of 8,200 tonnes, a maximum speed of 30 knots, and armament consisting of a 127mm naval gun, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles, land attack cruise missiles, and torpedoes. Installation of the Aegis Combat System will enable the ship to successfully intercept ballistic missiles.
