Article Posted on : - Mar 24, 2011

The first KDX-III class warship, Sejong the Great. The new warships have been designed with air defence, land attack, anti-shipping, and anti-submarine warfare capabilities. A file photo

SEOUL (BNS): The South Korean Navy Thursday launched its third Aegis destroyer, the Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong, at a Hyundai Heavy Industries’ facility near Seoul.

The 7,600-ton warship, equipped with the US-made state-of-the-art Aegis air defence system, was handed over to the Navy by its builder the Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. at its Ulsan facility near Seoul, the official Yonhap news agency said.

The Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong is the third King Sejong the Great class of destroyers, which are also called KDX-III class of warships.

The warships have been built with air defence, land attack, anti-shipping, and anti-submarine warfare capabilities.

The new KDX-III class destroyer is also armed with domestically developed ship-to-ship missiles and torpedoes as well as a vertical missile-launch system and ship-to-surface cruise missiles, Yonhap said quoting the Navy.

The 166-meter-long destroyer can carry about 120 missiles and torpedoes in its vertical launch system, it said.

The South Korean Navy has already commissioned the first and second destroyers of the series in 2008 and 2010 respectively.

The Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong is scheduled to be commissioned into service in March 2012.