''Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin'' class destroyers (, Hanja: 忠武公李舜臣級驅逐艦) are multipurpose

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s of the Republic of Korea Navy. The lead ship of this class, ROKS ''Chungmugong Yi Sunsin'', was launched in May 2002 and commissioned in December 2003. ''Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin''-class destroyers were the second class of ships to be produced in the Republic of Korea Navy's destroyer mass-production program named Korean Destroyer eXperimental, which paved the way for the navy to become a

blue-water navy A blue-water navy is a maritime force capable of operating globally, essentially across the deep waters of open oceans. While definitions of what actually constitutes such a force vary, there is a requirement for the ability to exercise sea cont ...

. Six ships were launched by

Hyundai Heavy Industries Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (HHI; ) is the world's largest shipbuilding company and a major heavy equipment manufacturer. Its headquarters are in Ulsan, South Korea. History HHI was founded in 1972 by Chung Ju-yung as a division of the ...

and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in four years.

Weapon systems

The ships have a 32-cell strike-length Mk 41 VLS for SM-2 Block IIIA area-air defence missiles, one 21-round RAM inner-layer defence missile launcher, one 30 mm Goalkeeper close-in weapon system, one Mk 45 Mod 4 127 mm gun, eight Harpoon anti-ship missiles and two triple 324 mm anti-submarine torpedo tubes. The electronics suite includes one Raytheon

AN/SPS-49 The AN/SPS-49 is a United States Navy two-dimensional, long range air search radar built by Raytheon that can provide contact bearing and range. It is a primary air-search radar for numerous ships in the U.S. fleet and in Spain, Poland, Taiw ...

(V)5 2D long-range radar (LRR), one Thales Nederland MW08 target indication

3D radar 3-D, 3D, or 3d may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Relating to three-dimensionality * Three-dimensional space ** 3D computer graphics, computer graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data ** 3D film, a ...

(TIR), two Thales Nederland STIR240

fire-control radar A fire-control radar (FCR) is a radar that is designed specifically to provide information (mainly target azimuth, elevation, range and range rate) to a fire-control system in order to direct weapons such that they hit a target. They are sometim ...

s with OT-134A

Continuous Wave A continuous wave or continuous waveform (CW) is an electromagnetic wave of constant amplitude and frequency, typically a sine wave, that for mathematical analysis is considered to be of infinite duration. It may refer to e.g. a laser or particle ...

Illumination (CWI) transmitters, an SLQ-200(V)K SONATA electronic warfare system and a KDCOM-II combat management system which is derived from the Royal Navy Type 23 frigate's SSCS combat management system.

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...

WDS Mk 14 originally developed for the US Navy's New Threat Upgrade evaluates threats, prioritizes them, and engages them in order with SM-2. On the 4th unit, ROKS ''Wang Geon'', the 32-cell Mk 41 VLS is moved to the left and an indigenous VLS named K-VLS is installed on the right. The ship's forward part is spacious enough to take a 56-cell Mk 41 VLS.

Design

The KDX-II is part of a much larger build up program aimed at turning the ROKN into a blue-water navy. It is said to be the first stealthy major combatant in the ROKN and was designed to significantly increase the ROKN's capabilities.

Ships in the class

Gallery

File:ROKS Munmu the Great (DDH 976).jpg, ROKS ''Munmu the Great'' (DDH-976) during RIMPAC 2006 File:RoK warship Dae Jo Yeong (DDG 977).jpg, ROKS ''Dae Jo Yeong'' (DDH-977) being guided into Naval Base San Diego File:ROKS Kang Gamchan steams by a line of ROK Navy ships during the International Fleet Review.jpg, ROKS ''Kang Gamchan'' (DDH-979) during International Fleet Review File:Choi Young (DDH-981) cropped.jpg, ROKS ''Choi Young'' (DDH-981) during joint exercise "Invincible Spirit"

Variants

KDX-IIA

KDX-IIA KDX-IIA is an Aegis Combat System armed variant of the KDX-II, of the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN). As of 2011 ROKN planned to build at least 6 ships of this class with a proposed displacement of 5500 ~ 7500 tons over the 2019 to 2026 time ...

is a proposed variant of the KDX-II. It will be armed with the advanced Aegis Combat System and will have enhanced features of KDX-II such as stealth. The ship has been offered to the Indian Navy.

Arsenal ship

On August 14, 2019, the Ministry of National Defense unveiled a five year defense plan between 2020 and 2024. The defense plan called for two new naval projects to be developed: the LPX-II-Class Aircraft Carrier and an arsenal ship. The design of the arsenal ship is said to be based on the KDX-II destroyer and is expected to be completed by the late 2020s.