Colombian Navy new Pohang-class missile corvette Almirante Tono arrived in Cartagena.

According to a video released by the Colombian Navy on November 24, 2020, the new Colombian Navy Pohang-class missile corvette Almirante Tono donated by South Korea has arrived at its homeport in Cartagena after 52 days at sea.
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Colombian Navy ARC Almirante Tono Pohang-class corvette donated by South Korea to Colombia. (Picture source Facebook Korea Armed Forces)

The ARC Almirante Tono is a former Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) Pohang-class corvette Iksan (PCC-768) which served the Republic of Korea Navy from 1987 to 2018. The ship was transferred to the Colombian Navy as part of the friendship and cooperation relationship that the two nations have had for more than six decades. This is the second ship that South Korea has transferred to Colombia after the ARC Nariño, a Donghae-class corvette received in 2013.

The Pohang-class corvette Iksan (PCC-768) was manufactured by the South Korean Company Hyundai Heavy Industries and launched in March 1987. A total of 24 Pohang-class vessels were built, all constructed in South Korea. 10 vessels remain in service in the ROKN as of 2020.

The Pohang-class corvette has been designed to conduct coastal patrol and is equipped with combat weapon systems to perform anti-submarine, anti-ship, and anti-aircraft warfare operations. The ship has an empty displacement of 950 tons, a length of 88.3 m, a beam of 10 m, and a draft of 2.9m. She has a crew of 95 people including 10 officers.

The Iksan is a Flight IV version in the Pohang-class corvette family which is armed with two OTO Melara 76 mm/62 compact naval gun, two twin Otobreda 40mm/70 caliber cannons, four RGM-84 Harpoon Block 1B anti-ship missiles, two triple Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes, Mistram MANPADS, two K6 12.7mm machine guns and two M60 7.62mm machine guns.

Sensor and radars of the Pohang-class corvette include SPS-64 surface search radar, Signaal WM 28 fire control radar, Signaal LIOD (Lightweight Optronic Director), and SRN 15 TACAN (Tactical Air Navigation) Sonar.

The Pohang-class corvette is powered by a combined diesel or gas (CODOG) propulsion system including one GE LM2500 gas turbine engine and two MTU 12V 956 TB82 diesel engines. She can reach a top speed of 32 knots (59 km/h) and a cruise speed of 15 knots (28 km/h) with a maximum cruising range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km).