The Navy plans to build and deploy six "mini" Aegis combat ships by 2026, using them as the backbone of its defense against North Korea.
South Korea currently operates one Aegis combat destroyer weighing 7,600 tons and plans to have two more by 2012. Aegis, a high-tech naval defense system, enables ships to monitor and shoot down targets hundreds of kilometers away.
During a National Assembly audit of the Navy at the Gyeryongdae military compound near Daejeon, officials said six Aegis destroyers that weigh 5,600 tons will be built starting in 2019.
The destroyers will be equipped with SM-2 missile interceptors and advanced radars that are common in Aegis-class vessels, according to Yonhap News Agency.
The so-called KDX-IIIA destroyers are upgrades from KDX-II vessels, which do not have the Aegis capabilities, but weigh less than the KDX-III ships that have the Aegis system.