The ''Daegu''-class frigate (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

: 대구급 호위함,

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

: 大邱級護衛艦) is a class of guided missile frigates of the

Republic of Korea Navy The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; ko, 대한민국 해군), also known as the ROK Navy or South Korean Navy, is the naval warfare service branch of the South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and amphibious operations. The ROK Navy in ...

(ROKN). The ''Daegu'' class is based on the preceding , and has otherwise been referred to as the ''Incheon'' class batch II, or FFG-II. Eight ''Daegu''-class ships are planned, with the final goal of 20–22 frigates (of all types) in the ROKN. The ''Daegu''-class frigates are to be built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) and

Hyundai Heavy Industries Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (HHI; ) is the world's largest shipbuilding company and a major heavy equipment manufacturer. Its headquarters are in Ulsan, South Korea. History HHI was founded in 1972 by Chung Ju-yung as a division of the ...

Features

The ''Daegu'' class is an improved variant of the . Modifications to the ''Incheon'' class include a TB-250K towed array sonar system and a 16-cell

Korean Vertical Launching System The Korean Vertical Launching System (K-VLS or KVLS) is a vertical launch weapon system developed by South Korea to be deployed by the Republic of Korea Navy. It is used in the Sejong the Great-class destroyer, and is scheduled to be added to the D ...

(K-VLS) that is able to deploy the

K-SAAM The K-SAAM (Korean Surface to Air Anti Missile, ko, 해궁 "Haegung", Hanja: 海弓) is a South Korean medium range ship-based surface-to-air missile (SAM) system that is being developed by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), LIG Nex1 and ...

Hong Sang Eo The Hong Sang Eo (Red Shark) torpedo (Hangul: 홍상어 어뢰), also called the K-ASROC, is a vertically launched anti-submarine missile successively developed and tested by South Korea's University of Science and Technology, the Korea Agency f ...

anti-submarine missile An anti-submarine missile is a standoff anti-submarine weapon. Often a variant of anti-ship missile designs, an anti-submarine systems typically use a jet or rocket engine, to deliver an explosive warhead aimed directly at a submarine, a depth ch ...

, and Haeryong tactical land attack

cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...

s.ROK Navy Launches New Warship Capable of Hitting Targets Inside North Korea
- Thediplomat.com, 9 June 2016 The hull design is generally based on the one of the ''Incheon'' class. However, as a part of weapon system modifications, the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

has been significantly changed. The

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

and a

helicopter deck A helicopter deck (or helo deck) is a helicopter pad on the deck of a ship, usually located on the stern and always clear of obstacles that would prove hazardous to a helicopter landing. In the United States Navy, it is commonly and properly ref ...

on the

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...

has been enlarged to support the operation of a 10-ton helicopter.South Korea Orders Two Daegu-class FFX-II Frigates Ahead of Schedule to Support Shipbuilder
- Navyrecognition.com, 21 December 2016 The ''Daegu'' class is the first Korean warship to be equipped with a combined diesel-electric or gas (CODLOG) propulsion system. The propulsion system of the ROKN ships have a

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...

direct drive and four high speed diesel generators driving two Leonardo DRS permanent magnet electric motors. The Rolls Royce MT30 turbine engine replaces the twin gas turbine layout of the ''Incheon''-class frigates. The ''Daegu'' class provides improved

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

(ASW) capability than the predecessor ''Incheon'' class. The improved ASW capability provided by the Hanwha Systems SQS-250K towed array

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

and SQS-240K hull-mounted sonar.

Ships in the class

References

{{Republic of Korea Navy ships Frigate classes Frigates of the Republic of Korea Navy