ROKS Jeongjo the Great

Jeongjo the Great's sister ship, ROKS Sejong the Great during the Busan International Fleet Review on 7 October 2008.
South Korea
Name	Jeongjo the Great (정조대왕)
Namesake	Jeongjo of Joseon
Builder	Hyundai
Launched	28 July 2022
Identification	Pennant number: DDG-995
Status	Sea trials
General characteristics
Class and type	Sejong the Great-class (Batch II) destroyer
Displacement	8,500 tons standard 10,000 tons full load
Length	165 m (541 ft 4 in)
Beam	21.4 m (70 ft 3 in)
Draft	6.25 m (20 ft 6 in)
Propulsion	4 × General Electric LM2500 COGAG; 2 × shafts; 100,000 shp (75 MW) produced power
Speed	exceeds 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range	5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km; 6,300 mi)
Endurance	30 days
Complement	300 crew
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPY-1D(V) multi-function radar AN/SPG-62 fire control radar DSQS-21BZ-M hull mounted sonar SQR-220K towed array sonar system Sagem Infrared Search & Track (IRST) system
Electronic warfare & decoys	LIG Nex1 SLQ-200K Sonata electronic warfare suite
Armament	1 × 5 inch (127 mm)/L62 caliber Mk 45 Mod 4 naval gun 1 × 30 mm Phalanx CIWS 8 × SSM-700K Haeseong Anti-ship Missiles 48-cell Mk 41 VLS for: SM-2 Block IIIB SM-3 SM-6 16-cell K-VLS for: K-SAAM K-ASROC Red Shark Haeryong Tactical Surface Launch Missile land attack cruise missiles 24-cell K-VLS II for: Cheongung 3(L SAM)
Aircraft carried	2 × Super Lynx or MH-60R Seahawk
Aviation facilities	Hangar and helipad

ROKS Jeongjo the Great (DDG-995) is the fourth ship the of the Sejong the Great class of guided missile destroyers built for the Republic of Korea Navy, and the first of four KDX III Batch II ships to be built. She is the fourth Aegis-built destroyer of the service and was named after the 22nd monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea, Jeongjo of Joseon.

Background

The Sejong the Great class is the third phase of the South Korean navy's Korean Destroyer eXperimental (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 Batch II ships of the KDX III are based on the first three ships of the Sejong the Great class, with improved sensors and armament.

Unlike the existing Sejong the Great-class Aegis destroyers, Jeongjo the Great is equipped with the newer Aegis Combat System Baseline 9.C2 ‘KII’ combined with AN/SPY-1D(V) multi-function radar antennae. This will allow the Batch II ships to use the RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 and RIM-174 Standard Missile 6, in addition to the ROK Navy's current RIM-66 Standard Missile 2 missiles, from the Mark 41 Vertical Launching System.

At 8,500 tons standard displacement and 10,000 tons full load, 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. As such, some analysts believe that this class of ships is more appropriately termed a class of cruisers rather than destroyers.

Construction and career

ROKS Jeongjo the Great was launched on 28 July 2022 by Hyundai Heavy Industries. She is scheduled to be delivered to the ROK Navy in 2026.