▶ Delivery signing ceremony for the 8,200-ton Aegis destroyer, ‘Jeongjo the Great’ held at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries on the 27th, attended by government representatives from seven countries including the United States, Poland, and more 
▶ Chungnam (FFX-Ⅲ) class, the cutting-edge frigate, also unveiled alongside ‘Jeongjo the Great’
▶ “This is a groundbreaking event, showing HHI’s on-time delivery capability to the world. Now is the time to accelerate Korea’s defense exports through unity with ‘Team Korea, Team Ship’ efforts"

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) delivered its industry-leading Aegis destroyer ‘Jeongjo the Great’ to the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy.

HHI announced today that it held a delivery signing ceremony for the leading ship of the 8,200-ton Aegis destroyer (Batch-Ⅱ), ‘Jeongjo the Great’. The delivery ceremony was attended by Deputy Minister of Current Capabilities Program Agency of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), Jo Hyeon-gi, Director of the Naval Planning and Management Department of the Republic of Korea Navy Headquarters, Gwak Gwang-seop (Read Admiral Upper Half), Commander of the 8th Naval Combat Training Flotilla, Park Tae-gyu (Read Admiral Lower Half), Vice Chairman of the Ulsan Metropolitan Council, Kim Jong-seob, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries President, Lee Sang-kyun, and Head of Naval and Special Ship, Joo Won Ho among many distinguished guests.

The Consul of the United States of America Consulate in Busan, Nolan Barkhouse, the Ambassador or Ecuador to Korea, Patricio Esteban Troya Suarez, Charge d’Affaires of the Polish Embassy in Korea, Artur GRADZIUK, and delegates from Peru, Morocco, Chile, and Thailand were also present in which they witnessed the excellency of ROKN vessel.

Following the signing ceremony, the delegates visited the cutting-edge frigate ‘Chungnam’, which is scheduled for delivery to the ROK Navy next month.

Among the visiting nations, Poland and Peru are emerging as strong potential customers for Korean defense export. The maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) cooperation with the US has also been reviewed, further underscoring the significance of today’s ceremony.
‘Jeongjo The Great’ is the fourth Aegis destroyer of the ROK, independently developed and built using Korea’s domestic technology. The ship is equipped with the latest Aegis combat management system (CMS), multi-function phased array radar, integrated sonar system independently developed by HHI, Korea’s vertical launch system (VLS), and ballistic missile interceptors capable of not only detecting and tracking ballistic missiles but also intercepting them.
 
HHI signed the building contract for ‘Jeongjo the Great’ with DAPA in 2019. This was followed by the steel cutting ceremony in 2021 and launching ceremony on July 28th, 2022. The ship successfully passed all 550 demanding trial tests including maximum speed evaluation, and then delivered to the Navy on time.

On-time delivery highlights HHI’s competitiveness, showcasing its technical capability, cost efficiency, and adherence to delivery timelines. It marks the fourth on-time delivery following those of Ulsan-Class frigates ‘Cheonan’ and ‘Chuncheon’, 3,000-ton submarine ‘Shin Chae-ho’.

‘Jeongjo the Great’ captured widespread attention from delegates around the world, as demonstrated at United States Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro’s visit to the construction site, along with many others.

“It’s a great honor for HHI to successfully deliver the top-class Aegis destroyer ‘Jeongjo the Great.’ It is a result of our evolving cooperation with affiliated organizations, including DAPA, the ROK Navy, Agency for Defense Development (ADD), Defense Agency for Technology and Quality (DTaQ), and others. HHI remains committed to contributing to Korea’s defense exports with the ‘Team Korea, Team Ship’ efforts alongside government organizations.” said HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Head of Naval and Special Ship, Joo Won Ho.
 
HHI is finalizing the construction of the second ship of the ‘Jeongjo the Great’, which is set to be launched the next year, and began construction of the third ship last October. Additionally, HHI is leading naval ship exports with the Philippine Navy’s corvette scheduled for delivery next year, and the commencement of local cooperative development for four vessels for the Peruvian Navy.


■ Note: Specifications

‘Jeongjo the Great’ is the Aegis destroyer, developed and constructed independently using Korea’s domestic technology. The displacement of the 8,200-ton ‘Jeongjo the Great’ has increased from that of the 7,600-ton Aegis destroyer Batch-Ⅰ, but the stealth capability for the survivability of the ship has enhanced.

‘Jeongjo the Great’ has completed high level of trial tests to accomplish the integration of the Aegis CMS adopted from the U.S. and the components developed from the ROK. It is said that the successful test completion of ‘Jeongjo the Great’ resulted from the harmonious cooperation system with affiliated organizations that participated in the test including DAPA, DTaQ combined with the expertise of HHI’s Integrated Test Team (ITT), the only team of its kind in South Korea.

‘Jeongjo the Great’ is equipped with the latest Aegis CMS, combat management system, multi-function phased array radar, integrated sonar system independently developed by HHI, Korea’s vertical launch system (VLS-Ⅱ), and MH-60R maritime operation helicopter to successfully execute long-term attacks to major strategic targets including ballistic missiles, and to enhance the detection capability for underwater threats such as submarines.

The ship has two additional Hybrid Electric Drives (HED) along with the existing four gas turbine engines to enable economic operations.

Being the symbol of a cutting-edge destroyer and the country’s strategic asset equipped with the latest Aegis CMS capable of detection, tracking, and the attack for the ballistic missiles, ‘Jeongjo the Great’ is expected to operate as the key capability of the maritime-based mobile three-axis system*. 

*Maritime-based mobile three-axis system: Developed by the ROK Navy, this system is designed to counter the ongoing nuclear and ballistic missile threat posed by North Korea. It comprises three core components: the Kill Chain preemptive strike system, the Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system, and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR) plan.

■ Image Description

The sea trials of ‘Jeongjo the Great’ (KDX-Ⅲ, Batch-Ⅱ), the lead ship of the next-generation Aegis destroyer built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and delivered to the Navy