Hyundai Heavy Industries Launches South Korean Submarine

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the world’s biggest shipbuilder, announced today it launched South Korea’s fifth submarine, ROKS Yun Bong-gil, at its headquarters in Ulsan, South Korea.

The launching ceremony of the Class 214 diesel-electric air independent propulsion (AIP) submarine was attended by Admiral Hwang Ki-chul, the chief of naval operations, Republic of Korea; Mr. Kim Oi-hyun, president and CEO of HHI; and 200 other guests.

The Class 214 AIP submarine, measuring 65m in length and 7m in width, can sail at a maximum speed of 20 knots with a crew of 40. With a 1,800-ton displacement capacity, South Korea’s largest submarine made of high yield steel can dive up to 400m deep and last 2 weeks under water with fuel cells. The submarine, equipped with guided missiles, torpedoes and mines, also features an automatic simultaneous target tracking system and a torpedo guidance and detection system.

The submarine, named after Yun Bong-gil, the Korean independence activist during the Japanese occupation of Korea, will be delivered to the Korean Navy by the end of 2015 after seaborne operational exercises.

The South Korea-based shipbuilder has also delivered South Korea’s first, second, and third Class 214 submarines and is currently building the Korean navy’s seventh and ninth submarines of the same class.