By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration has signed a contract with Germany's Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) to build six more 1,800-ton Type-214 submarines, agency officials said Friday.
The conventional submarines will be supplied as packages for assembly by local shipyards, they said.
The first of the batch is to be built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. Tenders for the production of the second vessel will be submitted this summer.
South Korea has built three Type-214s designated as the Son Won-il class.
Features of the submarine include an air-independent propulsion system based on hydrogen fuel cells and a modular construction principle that can be adapted to customer requirements.