Hanwha to develop Combat Management System and radar for South Korean KDDX destroyer.

According to information published by the Republic of Korea armed forces Facebook account on December 25, 2020, the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) was awarded a $500 million contract to Hanwha Systems to begin the development of Combat Management System (CMS) and Multi-Function Radar (MFR) for KDDX South Korean Destroyer program by 2029.
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Scale model of KDDX destroyer for South Korean Navy. (Picture source Republic of Korea Armed Force Facebook account)

The KDDX is a program launched by the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration to produce a new stealthy destroyer that will be developed by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering for ROK South Korean Navy. The new destroyer is expected to be launched after 2025.

The new KDDX destroyer will be fitted with the AEGIS, an advanced command and control and weapon control system (WCS) that uses powerful computers and radars to track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets. She will be armed with anti-aircraft and land-attack missiles.

According to a DSME representative at Indo Defence, the KDDX is being developed as a smaller, more compact and more stealthy follow-on to the AEGIS KDX-III destroyers. The main requirements from the ROK Navy are lower maintenance and operating costs than KDX-III, which are based on the U.S. Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

During IndoDefence, the Indonesian defense exhibition that was held in November 2014, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has presented a scale model of its KDDX Destroyer. The ship will have a displacement of 8,000 tons, a length of 155 m, a breadth of 18.8 m, and a draft of 9.5 m.

The KDDX destroyer will be armed with 16x SSM-700K Haeseong (C-Star) Anti-ship Missile launchers, 48x vertical launch systems at the bow (MK41 from Lockheed Martin or some Korean VLS under development by Doosan) for a surface to air missiles, 16x larger K-VLS back aft. This could not be confirmed at Indo Defence, but Navy Recognition believes these larger K-VLS will be used to store and launch LIG Nex1's Hyunmoo-3C land attack cruise missiles with a range of about 1,500 km. There are speculations in South Korea that there will also be an anti-ship version of the Hyunmoo missile. A Phalanx CIWS is fitted on top of the dual helicopter hangar.