Navy upgrades destroyer's combat system, sonar technology

SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has upgraded the combat system and underwater target detection capability of a 3,200-ton destroyer in the country's first project to improve the Navy's surface vessels, the arms procurement agency said Wednesday.

Following the improvement, the Yang Manchun destroyer can now handle three times as much data on targets at a speed 100 times faster than the previous version, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

The system was upgraded with indigenous technologies, saving time on maintenance work and cutting related expenses.

The vessel's towed array sonar system was also upgraded to boost the Navy's capability to carry out anti-submarine operations, the agency said.

The Yang Manchun was the first of three KDX-I destroyers to be upgraded under the Navy's improvement project that began in 2016. The arms procurement agency plans to complete the project on the two other ships by next year.

"The successful localization of a destroyer-level combat system greatly contributes to the military's combat capacity, as well as to the country's defense industry," an official said, vowing to carry out the improvement project on the remaining two ships on schedule.

The upgraded Yang Manchun was to be delivered to the military at the Jinhae naval base in the southeastern city of Changwon on Wednesday.

scaaet@yna.co.kr
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