According
to the local news agency Yonhap, South Korea's Navy launched a new fast
patrol boat to help counter North Korea's hovercraft force along its
maritime demarcation line, the military said Thursday July 28, 2016. |
The
new 210-ton patrol boat killer medium, rocket, named Chamsuri-211, will
gradually replace the existing 20-year-old Chamsuri patrol boats in
service, the Navy said. A spokesman said the new boats will greatly
bolster Seoul's ability to defend the tension-prone western maritime
sea border with North Korea.
The
launching event took place at a shipyard in Busan, 453 kilometers southeast
of Seoul with the new boat to undergo extensive sea trials before officially
joining the fleet in the second half of 2017.
The
Chamsuri-211 is armed with 130 millimeter anti-ship guided rockets,
which can hit North Korean hovercraft or air-cushion vehicles, that
are very fast and hard to hit using conventional naval guns. The Navy
added the new boat can effectively engage other small boats and even
has countermeasures if attacked by missiles.
Besides
the guided rockets, the boats are armed with a 76 mm rapid-firing main
gun and two radar-guided 12.7 mm heavy machine guns.
The
new PKMRs measures 44 meters in length has a beam of 7 meters and a
crew of 20 sailors. It can reach speeds up to 40 knots, or 74 kilometers
per hour, the Navy said.
Compared
with the existing Chamsuri patrol boat killer medium boats, the new
vessels are larger, faster and more powerfully armed, while having a
smaller crew. Existing PKMs have a crew of more than 30 with their main
armament being limited to 30-40 mm automatic cannons along with smaller
20 mm Sea Vulcans guns. These purely gun armed boats were cited for
not being effective against ACVs, military sources said.
(Source: Yonhap News) |
