HHI launches Daegu-class frigate for RoK Navy

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has launched the third of eight Daegu (FFX-II)-class guided-missile frigates on order for the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN).

Named Seoul (with pennant number 821), the 122.1 m-long warship entered the water at HHI’s facilities in the southeastern coastal city of Ulsan on 11 November in a ceremony that was also attended by South Korean Defence Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo.

HHI launched Daegu (FFX-II)-class frigate Seoul in a ceremony held on 11 November at the company’s facilities in Ulsan. (RoKN)

The launch of Seoul , which is expected to be handed over to the service in early 2021, coincided with the 74th anniversary of the foundation of the RoKN.

The first two frigates of the class – ROKS Daegu (818), which entered service in March 2018, and Gyeongnam (819), which was launched on 21 June 2019 – were built by South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), which will also build the fifth and sixth ships of the class.

HHI has been contracted to construct the third and fourth as well as the final two frigates of the class. The company is set to begin building the seventh and eighth ships in the second half of 2020, with delivery to the RoKN expected to take place in 2023, according to HHI.

The Daegu class is a larger variant of South Korea’s six Incheon (FFX-I)-class ships, the first of which entered service in 2013.