FFX: Korea’s New Frigates

Mar 05, 2013 13:26 UTC by Defense Industry Daily staff

Ulsan Class:
ROKS Chongju
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South Korea currently owns some of the world’s best and most advanced shipyards. That civilian strength is beginning to create military leverage, and recent years have seen the ROK take several steps toward fielding a true open-ocean, blue water navy. Their new KDX-II destroyers, KDX-III AEGIS destroyers, LPX amphibious assault ships, and KSS-I/KSS-II (U209/U214) submarines will give the nation more clout on the international stage, but what about the home front? North Korea’s gunboats have launched surprise attacks on the ROK Navy twice in the last decade, while its submarines continue to insert commandos in South Korean territory, and committed acts of war by sinking ROKN ships. To the west, Chinese fishing rights are a contentious issue that has led to the murder of a Korean Coast Guard official on the high seas.

Hence the Future Frigate Experimental (FFX) program. It aims to build upon lessons learned from ROK naval shipbuilding programs in the 1980s and 1990s, and replace 37 existing ships with a modern class of upgunned inshore patrol frigates. A contract to build the lead FFX frigate Incheon was issued in December 2008, and South Korea continues to work to define the program, including the forthcoming Batch II design.

The FFX Class, and its Predecessors

The ROKN’s Existing Fleet

It’s easier to understand and critique the thinking behind FFX, if you look at what it will replace.

The ROKN’s 9 small 2,200 – 2,300 ton Ulsan Class frigates were built in South Korea, and commissioned from 1981-1993. They’re not designed to operate alone in high-threat areas, or to provide general fleet defense on the open seas. Instead, they’re designed to serve as high-end coastal patrol vessels with a mix of anti-air (RIM-7 Sea Sparrow), anti-ship (guns, RGM-84 Harpoon), and anti-submarine capabilities. They carry a crew of 150.

The ROKN’s 24 Pohang Class 1,220 ton patrol corvettes were commissioned from 1984-1993, and have no anti-air missile capabilities. They mount 76mm, 40mm, and 30mm guns like the Ulsan Class, and are divided into 4 anti-surface warfare versions with MBDA’s Exocet ant-ship missiles, but no sonar or torpedoes; and 20 anti-submarine versions with sonar and torpedoes, but no missiles. They carry a crew of 95.

ROKS Cheonan, sunk by a North Korean torpedo in March 2010, was a Pohang Class ship.

The ROKN’s 4 low-end Dong Hae Class 1,000 ton patrol corvettes were commissioned from 1982-1983. they are armed with guns, sonar, and torpedoes, and also carry a crew of 95.

Bottom line? The Dong Hae Class are aging out of the water. The Pohang Class have shown that they can’t deal with North Korea’s subs, and have no air protection in waters that are more and more contested. The Ulsan Class can serve a while longer, but their equipment is outdated. Modern replacements are in order, and the threat’s challenges are pushing the ROKN toward an inshore corvette/frigate replacement that can carry higher-end equipment.

FFX: Batches and Key Improvements

In contrast to the older classes described above, the new FFX frigates will follow the modern pattern of stealthier ship designs with far better radars, sonars, and communications equipment. The new class is said to have accepted less radar stealth in the design, however, in order to keep ship costs down. That’s an acceptable tradeoff for an non-expeditionary inshore frigate.

The new frigates were expected to begin service in 2011, with the first 6 all built and delivered by 2015, but those dates have slipped. The first-of-class Incheon was launched in April 2011, but formal delivery to the ROKN didn’t happen until late 2012, and the ship wasn’t commissioned until 2013. The ROK Navy still intends to replace all ships in the Ulsan, Pohang, and Dong Hae classes by 2020. Overall construction will take place in at least 2 batches, and possibly 3.

FFX Batch I. The 1st batch of 6 FFX Incheon Class frigates measure about 114m long by 14m wide, with an empty weight of 2,300 tons and a crew of 145-170 sailors. Hyundai Heavy Industries claims a cruising range of about 8,000 km, though that would require a cruising speed well below the ship’s claimed 30-knot maximum.

Each FFX Batch I frigate is said to cost around WON 250 billion ($232 million), and the ROKN plans to have Hyundai Heavy Industries build 6 of them.

FFX Batch II. These ships may be slightly larger, and may also have a vertical launch system to accommodate a wider variety of weaponry. Up to 9 FFX Batch II ships are planned, to be built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. Very little has been finalized, beyond the fact that they will be powered by a single MT30 turbine, generating 36-40MW.

Even the FFX Batch I ships boast a number of significant improvements. The FFX Batch I equipment set will provide a notable firepower upgrade over the current Ulsan Class, and its capabilities and versatility will provide a very considerable upgrade over the ROKN’s existing corvettes.

Sensors. FFX ships’ use of improved modern sonars via a Thales/STX partnership has become a particular focus of attention, as post-Cheonan assessments questioned the adequacy of anti-submarine detection systems on earlier-model ships. The built-in sonar will eventually be complemented by a towed sonar, and the current plan is to produce that towed array in South Korea.

Other sensors include a Thales Smart-S Mk2 radar, and passive long range “electro-optical” day/night cameras. A SamsungThales combat system will integrate the ship’s sensors and weapons.

Weapons. FFX firepower will also improve over past classes. The ships will carry a 5 inch/ 127mm gun, RIM-116 RAM short-range missiles for killing aircraft and fast boats, and an embarked helicopter. Early reports also had the ships carrying a 30mm Thales Nederland “Goalkeeper” system for last-ditch missile defense and small boat overkill, like other South Korean combat vessels. In the end, however, the FFX became the 1st Korean ship to carry Raytheon’s smaller and less structurally intrusive 20mm Phalanx Block 1B, which shares commonalities with the RAM system. Anti-ship missiles and light torpedoes will also be on board, as is the case with the current Ulsan Class, but FFX’s Blue Shark (K745 Chung Sang Eo) torpedoes and Sea Star (Haesung) anti-ship missiles will both be Korean designs.

A January 2013 contract indicates that the FFX frigates may eventually embark the next generation of Lynx helicopters: the AW159 Wildcat SCMR naval variant, with full anti-submarine capability including a dipping sonar.

If a Vertical Launch System is installed in FFX Batch II, it would broaden the ships’ weapon array, lengthen their reach, and add a lot of flexibility. Even a small 8-cell installation could allow the frigates to carry longer-range air defense weapons like the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow or VL-MICA, and vertically launched anti-submarine missiles like Korea’s Red Shark. Full strike-length cells could even allow the ROKN to load land attack missiles like Korea’s Hyunmoo-3.

Contracts and Key Events

March 3/13: Philippines. The Philippines has decided not to buy second-hand Italian Maestrale frigates from the 1980s, and will pursue 2 new frigates instead. That will be a major acquisition given their budgets, and they’re reportedly talking to South Korea about the Incheon Class as an option.

South Korea is building a broader defense relationship with the Philippines, and is in advanced stage negotiations to renew the PAF with KAI’s TA-50 light fighter. PNA via Defense Studies.

June 26/12: MT30 for Batch II. Rolls-Royce announces that its MT30 gas turbine has been picked to power the FFX Batch II frigates, which Rolls Royce touts as the first frigate to feature the MT30.

The decision also includes a contract to supply an engine for the 1st Batch II ship. Rolls Royce will build and test the engine, then ship it to Korea, where Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) will integrate it into the steel enclosure which also houses the air inlets, exhausts and ancillary equipment. Shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) will install the enclosure in the ship.

The MT30 is the world’s most powerful marine gas turbine, delivering 36-40 MW, and The FFX Batch II frigates will use just 1 MT30, instead of carrying 2 turbines like most other frigates. This arrangement is similar to Lockheed Martin’s frigate-sized Littoral Combat Ship, but the MT30′s other platforms are revealing: the battlecruiser-sized DDG-1000 “destroyers,” and Britain’s CVF Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

Sept 12/11: Weapons. Raytheon signs a $65.5 million Direct Commercial Sale contract to deliver 5 Phalanx Block 1B Close-In Weapon Systems to the Republic of Korea Navy for the new FFX Batch I ships. The contract calls for the systems to be installed starting in April 2013, and represents Phalanx’s largest sale to the ROK fleet. Raytheon.

April 29/11: FFX-1 launch. Shipbuilder builder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. in Ulsan launches the 1st FFX Batch I frigate: the 2,300-ton (empty) FFG-811 Incheon. Hyundai HI | Korea Herald.

April 11/11: Weapons. Raytheon announces that it has delivered the 1st 20mm Phalanx Block 1B Close-In Weapon System to the Republic of Korea Navy, representing the Phalanx’s introduction into the ROK fleet. The direct commercial sale calls for the Phalanx Block 1B system to be installed on the lead FFX frigate in 2011.

Raytheon expects to sign another contract with South Korea for an additional 5 Phalanx systems in the near future. The Phalanx has some small-ship advantages over Thales 30mm Goalkeeper, as it can be installed as a simple bolt-on.

March 29/11: Unconfirmed report that the lead FFX ship will be named ROKS KyungGi, and is expected to be launched in late April 2011. The date turns out to be right, but not the name. World Armed Forces Forum.

Sept 29/10: Ships #2-3. A spokesman from the ROK’s Defence Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA) tells Jane’s that Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has been selected to construct the 2nd and 3rd Ulsan-I class FFX frigates. A contract to build the 2 ships, estimated to be valued at around $600 million, is scheduled to be signed by the end of 2010, with deliveries from 2014. Jane’s.

June 6/10: RAM & Phalanx picked. The Korea Times reports that Raytheon has beaten Thales Nederland and MBDA to supply the FFX frigates’ air defense weapons. Its RAM Rolling Airframe Missile reportedly beat MBDA’s VL-MICA (a surprise mention, as the Crotale NG/Mk3 is a closer analog, whose land variant is already in service with the ROK Army), while Raytheon’s 20mm Phalanx system was picked over the 30mm Goalkeeper system that equips other Korean ships.

A DAPA spokesman told the paper that the Phalanx CIWS contract was signed in May, while negotiations remained in progress for the RAM system. DAPA hopes to finalize that by July, and other DAPa sources are quoted as giving the Phalanx system an $11 million price tag, and the RAM system about $17 million.

March 26/10: ROKS Cheonan The Pohang Class corvette ROKS Cheonan is attacked and sinks, killing 46 of the 104 crew members. Subsequent investigation shows that it was sunk by a North Korean torpedo, fired from a submarine with what was apparently complete surprise.

The attack causes South Korea to re-evaluate its defense plans. The FFX project may end up receiving a boost, at the expense of high-end ships like the KDX-III AEGIS destroyers. Wikipedia re: Cheonan | Chosun Ilbo | JoongAng Daily | NY Times || ROK ambassador to US CSIS presentation [PDF] | Korea JoongAng Daily re: force rethink.

Oct/Nov 2009: Sub-contractors. Marine Propulsion reports that:

“Degaussing systems from SAM Electronics of Germany are specified for the Korean Navy’s new FFX-class multi-purpose frigates, starting with the lead-ship due next year. The order maintains a 30-year relationship forged when one of SAM’s predecessors, AEG-Schiffbau, secured a contract to deliver such systems to the first-generation Ulsan-class light frigates built in Korea…”

Degaussing systems are used to help remove magnetism from a ship’s hull. Without them, the ship becomes a lot more vulnerable to weapons like naval mines.

July 20/09: The Korea Times reports that their Navy plans to establish a strategic mobile fleet of 2 destroyer-led squadrons by February 2010, in a bid to develop blue-water operational capability beyond coastal defense against a North Korean invasion.

Each mobile squadron would initially consist of a KDX-III Aegis destroyer, 3 4,500-ton KDX-II destroyers, and maritime aircraft. That would be augmented by submarines and smaller ships like the FFX frigates, once a forward naval base is finished on the southern island of Jeju, around 2014.

March 18/09: Jane’s reports that South Korea’s DAPA procurement agency has re-issued a tender for the FFX’s tactical air navigation (TACAN) systems, after just one potential vendor submitted a bid. That triggered a DAPA rule forcing the re-issue.

Dec 26/08: Ship #1. Hyundai Heavy Industries signs a WON 140 billion (about $106.5 million) contract to build the lead ship of the South Korean Navy’s new FFX frigate class. It is not clear whether this is a complete contract, a contract for the ship minus “government furnished equipment” like weapons, or a partial award.

Hyundai had been in charge of the basic FFX design. There had been rumors that Korea was considering the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missile for medium-range air defense, to be mounted in a vertical launching system that could also host anti-submarine rockets and add new weapons over time. While the ships’ planned 4,550 nautical mile operating range might make that idea attractive, the South Korean Navy appears to have decided to contain costs, and stick to its original mission of coastal defense. Korea Times sources indicate that the new ships will not have vertical launchers. The Korea Times | Your Shipbuilding News.

Feb 5/07: Sensors. Thales Underwater Systems announces a contract from Korea’s STX Engine CO Ltd, for industrial cooperation aiming at the full scale development of a new Hull Mounted Sonar (HMS) for the FFX frigate program. The sonar will be based on current Thales off-the-shelf products, and final contract completion is expected in 2009.

Additional Readings

• DID – AW159 Wildcat: The Future Lynx Helicopter Program

• Global Security – FFK Ulsan class Frigate Korea (FFK)

• Global Security – Pohang (PCC Patrol Combat Corvette)

• Global Security – Tonghae / Dong Hae (PCC Patrol Combat Corvette)

• L-3 MAPPS – Experience. Entries include the Integrated Platform Management System for the FFX, as well as South Korea’s other modern surface combatants. The IPMS provides integrated monitoring and control of all of the ship’s platform machinery and systems such as propulsion, steering, electrical generation & distribution, auxiliaries, fire/smoke/flood detection and damage control. It also features advanced capabilities such as on-board full mission team training, and equipment health monitoring.

• ‘Manoeuvre’ in Maritime Asia (Feb 9/09) – PKX-A’s Contributions to the S. Korean Naval Community. Launch of the Yun Yeong-Ha Class of 500t patrol boats. Note the upgrade to include anti-ship missiles, even at this level.