S.Korea to launch 2nd homegrown 3,000-ton submarine

SEOUL - South Korea's military planned to launch its second homegrown 3,000-ton diesel-powered submarine, Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday citing the country's navy.

The launch ceremony will be held at 3 pm local time at a shipyard of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering in the southeastern city of Geoje.

Under a project worth 3.09 trillion won ($2.8 billion) that began in 2007, the military aimed to build three 3,000-ton-class submarines by 2023.

The first submarine was launched in September 2018 and expected to be put into operational deployment around the end of this year, according to Yonhap.

The new submarine features advanced combat and sonar systems, developed with indigenous technology. It planned to be delivered to the navy in 2022 after necessary tests.

The 83.3-meter-long and 9.6-meter-wide submarine can carry 50 crewmembers, operating underwater for up to 20 days without surfacing thanks to the air independent propulsion (AIP) system.

It is reportedly equipped with six vertical launching tubes capable of firing ballistic missiles.

South Korea's military currently operates nine 1,200-ton submarines and nine 1,800-ton ones, according to Yonhap.