South Korea Completes Preliminary Design of New Changbogo III-class Submarine

South Korea has completed preliminary design of a new 3,000-ton Changbogo III-class Batch-II submarine that features capabilities for longer-duration and speedier underwater operations.

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. has been designing the submarine since July 2016. Construction is set to begin in the latter half of next year, Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Wednesday.

The next generation submarine will be equipped with a locally developed lithium battery; and sonar and combat tools for target detection capabilities and overall survivability.

Korea launched the Changbogo III-class Batch-I submarine in September this year with its operational deployment slated for January 2022. Seventy-six percent of batch-I component parts were made by Korean businesses.