S. Korea successfully test-fires anti-submarine torpedo

The Navy said Friday it has successfully test-fired an indigenously developed anti-submarine torpedo after an initial failure earlier this year.

Two Hongsangeo, or Red Shark practice torpedoes were fired in the test, and experts concluded that both met operational requirements.

"The torpedoes followed their intended courses and reached operation speeds and range," a Navy official said, requesting that he not be identified.

Details of the data collected in the test will be further analyzed, the official said, adding that plans are being made to test-fire four more torpedoes in the near future to make certain that the weapons system works properly.

On July 25, the Navy test-fired two Hongsangeo torpedoes off Pohang, a port on the country's southeast coast, but they failed to hit their intended targets set 20 kilometers away and 60 meters underwater.

The Hongsangeo torpedoes test-fired went missing and could not be retrieved for analysis, the Navy said.

The ship-to-submarine torpedo was developed by the state-funded Agency for Defense Development (ADD) at a total cost of 100 billion won ($90.7 million) after nearly 10 years of research, the Navy said in a news release.

The new torpedoes are designed for use by South Korea's newest warships, including the KDX-II destroyers. The state-run Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) gave the go-ahead to produce the first Hongsangeo torpedo in 2009. (Yonhap)