Daewoo handed over upgraded Chang Bogo I-class sub to South Korea.

On June 10, the South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) handed over the Chang Bogo I-class (Type 209/1200) diesel-electric attack submarine (SSK), dubbed Na Dae Yong, to the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy (or ROKN), after two years of upgrading.

A Chang Bogo I-class SSK (Picture Source: U.S. Navy)

The handover ceremony was held at the DSME shipyard on Geoje Island, near the port city of Busan in the southeastern part of South Korea on June 10.

Upgrades included a new combat management system, a towed array sonar and improved target detection and tracking capability, according to DAPA. The ROKN currently operates nine 1.200-tonne Chang Bogo I-class SSKs, the first of which entered service in the early 1990s. Following upgrades, the SSK class can launch Sub-Harpoon missiles. Another retrofitted SSK of the class, Choi Moo Sun, had been handed over to the ROKM in February.

“Its testing and evaluation showed that the new version bears the key target-detecting and combat functions required to carry out underwater warfare in a more effective manner,” DAPA official Choi Hoe-Gyeong was quoted as saying on June 10 by Yonhap news agency. The DAPA official also highlighted the indigenous technologies featured in the sub’s new combat management system.