South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has launched the fourth of eight Daegu (FFX-II)-class guided-missile frigates on order for the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN).
Named Donghae (with pennant number 822), the 122.1 m-long warship entered the water during a ceremony held on 29 April at HHI’s facilities in the southeastern coastal city of Ulsan, and is expected to be handed over to the service in late 2021.
The first two frigates of the class – ROKS Daegu (818), which entered service in March 2018, and Gyeongnam (819), which was launched on 21 June 2019 – were built by South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), which will also build the fifth and sixth ships of the class.
HHI launched Daegu (FFX-II)-class frigate Donghae in a ceremony held on 29 April at the company’s facilities in Ulsan, South Korea. (RoKN)
The third and fourth ships, Seoul (821) and Donghae , are being built by HHI, which has also been contracted to construct the final two frigates of the class. The company is set to begin building the seventh and eighth vessels in the second half of 2020, with delivery to the RoKN expected to take place in 2023, according to HHI.
The Daegu class is a larger variant of South Korea’s six Incheon (FFX-I)-class ships, the first of which entered service in 2013.
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