[Exclusive] Samsung Thales May Win Deal on Submarine Combat System

By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

Samsung Thales Corp. (STC) is set to win a $120 million contract to supply cutting-edge automated combat systems for the nation's first 3,000-ton KSS-III attack submarine to be deployed after 2020, officials of the Agency for Defense Development (ADD)and the Defense Acquisitio Program Administration (DAPA) said Wednesday.

The joint venture company of South Korea's Samsung Electronics and the French electronics giant Thales has become the sole bidder for the submarine combat system contract as its rival LIG Nex1, another leading electronics systems maker here, dropped its bid last month, they said.

Instead, LIG Nex1 is expected to take charge of integrating sonar systems for the KSS-III heavy submarine under a $80 million deal, they added.

The ADD is reviewing a contract proposal submitted by STC on April 11 and is expected to announce a final bidder as early as late this month, said the officials.

Naval combat systems automate target detection, tracking, threat assessment and weapons control. The system guides these functions simultaneously for efficient execution, allowing combat operations to be carried out by fewer crew members.

STC has successfully developed naval combat systems for the South Korean Navy's warships, including the 14,000-ton Dokdo Landing Platform Helicopter and KDX-1/II destroyers, for the past decades.

The firm plans to unveil a prototype of its advanced submarine combat system, under development for four years, in the near future.

Under a revised Defense Reform 2020 plan, KSS-III submarines will be deployed after 2020, a two-year delay from the original reform package unveiled in 2005, sources said.

The heavy attack submarine is to be armed with indigenous ship-to-ground cruise missiles and be capable of underwater operations for up to 50 days with the advanced Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system, according to the Navy. The AIP system improves a submarine's underwater performance and gives it stealth capability.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr

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