Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the world’s biggest shipbuilder, announced today it launched South Korea’s seventh KSS-II 1,800-ton submarine, Hong Beom-do, at its Special & Naval Shipbuilding Division in Ulsan, South Korea. The launching ceremony of the Class 214 diesel-electric air independent propulsion (AIP) submarine was attended by Admiral Jung Ho-sub, chief of naval operations of the ROK Navy; Mr. Kwon Oh-gap, president and CEO of HHI; and other guests.

The Class 214 AIP submarine, measuring 65 m in length and 7 m in width, can sail at a maximum speed of 20 knots with a crew of 40. With a 1,800-ton displacement capacity, South Korea’s largest submarine made of high yield steel can dive up to 400 m deep and last for two weeks under water with fuel cells. The submarine is loaded with long-range submarine-to-ground cruise missiles developed by Korea’s own technology, torpedoes and mines featuring an automatic simultaneous target tracking system and a torpedo guidance and detection system.

The submarine was named after Hong Beom-do, a commander-in-chief of Korean Independence Army, who achieved the most splendid victory during the colonial period HHI undertook the duty to build six of nine 1,800-ton submarines procured by ROK Navy under the KSS-II Project. The ninth submarine is under construction from February 2014 at the Special & Naval Shipbuilding Division.

The ROK Navy’s seventh submarine will be delivered to the Korean Navy by July 2017 after seaborne operational trials.