Picture of the Day: The ROK Navy’s Newest Frigate
Seen here is the South Korean Navy’s new 2,800-ton frigate, the Daejeon, whose launching ceremony was held at its manufacturer Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co.’s Okpo shipyard on the southern island of Geoje on May 3, 2021. (Yonhap)Â
Build 100 of those and no need to fear any local aircraft carriers.
Unfortunately setnaffa, the particular class of frigate has issues with its electric propulsion. No idea if it has been fixed, and only eight will be built, although the total will be more like twenty if you consider the Batch 1 and 3 ships.
Also, the new frigates are unloved by the ROK Navy, which prefer bigger ships and feel that the frigates are stealing the budget from the bigger ships.
However IMO, it would have been more cost effective and efficient if the ROKN built a single class of frigates with the latest technologies in large numbers instead of the more expensive AEGIS destroyers and carriers, which are only good for show and tell.
Excellent analysis TOK. I would recommend the ROK Navy stock up on The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy’s Finest Hour by James D. Hornfischer.
Small fast boats (DDs and DEs) chased away a vastly larger force including the Yamato, other BBs, CAs, and DDs. And individually, not really strategic enough to target. Also, many smaller ships can be dispersed and again avoid being a significant target. And the whole force won’t be “refitting” at the same time.
@setnaffa,
I also had the opportunity to read the book in question, which is an excellent piece of historic work.
As for the ROKN admirals, don’t expect them to read it.
The ROKN admirals have always dreamt of building a blue water navy starting from the seventies. However, Park Chunghee was smart enough to know that the major maritime security concern was the North Korean Navy and that South Korea had a limited budget. As such he put a lid on those dreams.
He was also an active proponent of the defense industry but did not go overboard and kept it concentrated on the weapons that the ROK needed to counter the NK threat. Ships planned and built during that era were mostly light frigates, corvettes, and patrol boats that were simple, could be mass produced, and more suited to countering North Korean patrol and infiltration boats. Although sadly not much investment was done on countering NK subs.
The ROK Navy however did not give up and when it participated in RIMPAC for the first time with two Ulsan class frigates, they felt that the USN and the JMSDF were laughing at them and vowed to come back with bigger ships to show that they were not to be laughed at.
They eventually found a sympathetic ear among the leftist since the idea of a Korean blue water navy dovetailed nicely with their nationalistic agenda. Besides to them the NK Navy wasn’t a threat so better to spend the money on big ships to counter Japan instead of the ones suited to counter the NK threat.
Of course that all changed when the NKs sank the Cheonan, and some investment was made for vessels suited for littoral warfare, Although as seen with the latest carrier show, the ROKN hasn’t totally given up on their long time fantasy, and the leftists are still egging them on.
“The ROK Navy however did not give up and when it participated in RIMPAC for the first time with two Ulsan class frigates, they felt that the USN and the JMSDF were laughing at them and vowed to come back with bigger ships to show that they were not to be laughed at.” – TOK
Why would they feel that, when the little Korean diesel subs murdered the entire US naval might in the RIMPAC simulations?
More Beijing Scatology? Here’s a link that might enlighten you: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_RIMPAC#RIMPAC_2020
Korean Man,
As always you do not do your research,
The Korean subs started participating in RIMPAC from ’98.
The first Korean participation in RIMPAC with the two Ulsan class frigates was ’90. The year the Koreans were supposedly laughed at, because their ships were the smallest among the participants.
Maybe our tencent friend got confused watching Kelsey Grammar in Down Periscope?
@ setnaffa
Probably so.