ROKS ''Gwangju'' (FFG-817) is the sixth ship of the ''Incheon''-class

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the city,

Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office ...

Development

In the early 1990s, the Korean government plan for the construction of next generation coastal ships named ''Frigate 2000'' was scrapped due to the

1997 Asian financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...

. But the decommissioning of the destroyers and the aging fleet of ''Ulsan''-class frigates, the plan was revived as the

Future Frigate eXperimental The ''Incheon''-class frigates (Hangul: 인천급 호위함, Hanja: 仁川級護衛艦), also known as the Future Frigate eXperimental or FFX during development, are coastal defense frigates of the Republic of Korea Navy. The lead ship was launc ...

, also known as FFX in the early 2000s. The Republic of Korea Navy initially wanted twenty-four 3000 ton frigates to replace the ''Ulsan'', '' Pohang'' and -class coastal fleet of 37 ships. It was later decided that six 2700 ton ships will be constructed for the first batch. In 2008, the plan was further downgraded to 2300 tons when president

Lee Myung-bak Lee Myung-bak (; ; ; born 19 December 1941) is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the 10th president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction, and the ma ...

took office, with the number of ships for the first batch down to six. 8 ships are planned for the second batch of FFX with the final goal of 20-22 frigates.

Construction and career

ROKS ''Gwangju'' was launched on 11 August 2015 by

STX Offshore & Shipbuilding K Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean shipbuilding company. It was the world's fourth largest shipbuilder, South Korean shipyards anticipate orders owning STX Europe, Europe's second-largest shipbuilding group (divested in 2017 after ban ...

and commissioned on 9 November 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwangju 2015 ships Incheon-class frigates Ships built by STX Offshore & Shipbuilding