Hello everyone, welcome back again at Military TV. Today we will discuss another episode about,
“Sejong the Great-Class Destroyer” from South Korea.
The Sejong the Great Class or (Sejongdaewang Class) are the lead ship of her class of
guided-missile destroyers built for the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) under the Korean Destroyer
eXperimental (KDX) program. It was the first Aegis-built destroyer of the service and was
named after the fourth king of the Joseon dynasty of Korea, Sejong the Great. Sejong the Great Class
or (DDG 991) was constructed by the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in Ulsan and it
was launched in May 2007. The ship is the third phase of the South Korean navy's KDX program,
a substantial shipbuilding program, which is geared toward enhancing ROKN's ability to
successfully defend the maritime areas around South Korea from various modes of threats
as well as becoming a blue-water navy. The design of these ships borrow heavily
from features of the American Arleigh Burke-class and the Japanese Atago class, and share numerous
common components and systems as well, but has a largely original construction and composition.
In spite of it all, The Sejong destroyers are the largest surface warships to carry the Aegis
weapon system. Likely owing to the use of only fully-developed technologies and subsystems,
the Sejong the Great class destroyers cost only $923 million per vessel. It is worth
noting that its price tag makes these among the most inexpensive Aegis warships ever constructed.
At 11,000 tons full load, length of 166m, beam of 21.4m and a draft of 6.25m,
the KDX-III Sejong the Great destroyers are by far the largest destroyers in the South Korean Navy,
and indeed are larger than most destroyers in the navies of other countries, and built
slightly bulkier and heavier than Arleigh Burke-class destroyers or Atago-class destroyers
to accommodate 32 more missiles and more than 300 crew members. As such, some analysts believe that
this class of ships is more appropriately termed a class of cruisers rather than destroyers.
In addition, Sejong the Great destroyers are equipped with the Aegis combat system developed
by Lockheed Martin. The Aegis system consists of SPY-1 radar and other components including
SPY-1D (V) transmitter and MK 99 fire control system. The radar acquires and tracks multiple
targets such as aircraft and missiles. This system, integrated with the Mark 41 vertical
launching system, delivers missiles against multiple threats in different attack scenarios.
It can be used as an integrated single ship system and in a ship-to-ship network. In July 2010,
the Sejong the Great (DDG 991) successfully completed the combat system ship qualification
trials (CSSQT) at the Pacific Missile Range Facility, off the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
And now, let's have a look at other essential parts, that is ship weaponry.
In terms of armament, Sejong the Great features a total 80-cell arrangement of Mark 41 Vertical
Launch System for SM-2 Block IIIB and IV (RIM-66 Standard) medium-range surface-to-air missiles.
These are contained in a 48- and 32-cell pairing, one fitted forward and the other aft. Another
48-cell grouping houses 32 x "Hyunmoo III" series cruise missiles for use against land targets
and 16 x K-ASROC "Red Shark" anti-submarine missiles to deal with underwater threats.
Six K745 LW "Blue Shark" torpedoes are also carried. A turreted 5" Mk 45 Mod 4 naval gun
adds a more conventional attack system to the warship and is seated in its traditional place
at the forecastle. The 30mm "Goalkeeper" Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) provides the necessary
response to short-ranged incoming airborne threats such as cruise missiles, UAVs and aircraft.
All told this gives Sejong the Great proper reach against most any naval-going threat to the warship
be they aerial, on the sea, or under it in nature. Whereas the sensors consist of four AN/SPY-1D(V)
phased array radar sets, AN/SPG-62 fire control radar, a DSQS-21BZ hull-mounted sonar,
an MTeQ towed array sonar system, and a Sagem Infrared Search & Track system.
The AN/SPY-1D(V) is capable of being used as a passive radar, and the Sagem IRST is
already a passive system, giving the Sejong the Great class immense situational awareness
capabilities even at a maximum Emissions Control state, giving it substantial stealth capability.
At the stern position is a full-service helicopter deck with hangar space for two
Super Lynx or SH-60 Seahawk helicopters. These systems are kept aboard to increase
the eyes and ears of the warship by carrying advanced sonar and radar equipment as well as
anti-ship or anti-submarine weaponry. Helicopters also provide greater over the horizon vision. The
landing pad can seat one additional helicopter beyond the two housed systems allowing the warship
to essentially field a total of three rotorcraft under extreme circumstances. The helipad can
also accept supply-delivery helicopters and rotary-winged Unmanned Aerial Vehicles as needed.
While the propulsion for the Sejong the Great class is four General Electric LM2500
gas turbines driving two shafts with 100,000 hp. And the additional power for the ship's systems
is provided by three Rolls-Royce AG9140RF gas turbine generators, as the electrical
power demand of the class' systems is too great for the LM2500's alternators alone.
Enough fuel bunkerage is also provided for 5500 nautical miles
range at full speed in excess of 30 knots. So, the weapons, sensors, fire controls,
propulsion, and other systems are fully automated, and networked together via the Aegis combat
information system; the version currently used in the Sejong the Great class is Baseline 7 Phase 1.
This system allows the ship to detect, identify, evaluate, and engage targets with no input from
the crew, other than the decision to engage. The system can also display several thousand contacts,
and track or engage up to 100 simultaneously. It is also possible for the crew to operate
these systems manually, as in earlier guided missile warships, without using the Aegis
system. The class also has a Maritime Air Support Operation Centre (MASOC) system,
allowing it to coordinate the operations of all friendly tactical aircraft in the vicinity.
In 2012, the Republic of Korea Navy formally made a request to the government for three
additional Aegis warships, with an eye toward having them in commission by 2027.
If these vessels are authorized, it is likely that they will be additional Sejong the Great class
destroyers, or possibly an evolved version of the design. The manufacturers retain the ability to
construct additional Sejong the Great class, but it is unknown as of late 2015 if any other will
be ordered by the ROKN, and very unlikely that KDX-III type vessels would be offered for export,
as many of its key technologies are classified and barred from further proliferation by the US
government. Barring unforeseen developments, the Sejong the Great class destroyers will
remain in service until at least the mid-2030s. Thanks for watching, and as always if you enjoyed
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