ROKS Gwanggaeto the Great on 1 January 2012
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History | |
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South Korea | |
Name |
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Namesake | Gang Gam-chan |
Builder | DSME |
Launched | 23 October 1996 |
Commissioned | 24 July 1998 |
Identification | Pennant number: DDH-971 |
Status | Active |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Gwanggaeto the Great-class destroyer |
Displacement | 3,885–3,900 tonnes (3,824–3,838 long tons) full load |
Length | 135.5 m (444 ft 7 in) |
Beam | 14.2 m (46 ft 7 in) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
Complement | 286 |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Electronic warfare & decoys |
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Armament |
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ROKS Gwanggaeto the Great (DDH-971) is the lead ship of the Gwanggaeto the Great-class in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after Gwanggaeto the Great. [1]
The KDX-I was designed to replace the old destroyers in the ROKN that were transferred from the US Navy in the 1950s and 1960s. It was thought to be a major turning point for the ROKN in that the launching of the first KDX-I meant that ROKN finally had a capability to project power far from its shores. After the launching of the ship, there was a massive boom in South Korean international participation against piracy and military operations other than war. [2]
ROKS Gwanggaeto the Great was launched on 28 October 1996 by Daewoo Shipbuilding and commissioned on 24 July 1998. [3]