Navy to hold launch ceremony for new Aegis destroyer next week
This photo shows Jeongjo the Great Aegis destroyer entering a naval base in Jeju, Feb. 2. Joint Press Corps
The Navy will hold a ceremony marking the launch of a new Aegis destroyer next week, officials said Monday, in a move expected to help bolster the military's air defense capabilities against North Korean missiles when completed.
The ceremony for the 8,200-ton destroyer will take place at a HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in the southern city of Ulsan, some 310 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Sept. 17, according to the Navy.
The destroyer, named after Dasan Jeong Yak-yong, one of the greatest thinkers in the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), will be the Navy's fifth Aegis destroyer when delivered next year.
It is equipped with radar-evading functions and the newest Aegis combat system, capable of not only detecting and tracking ballistic missiles but also intercepting them.
The warship is expected to be fitted with the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) ship-based surface-to-air missile system that is capable of intercepting incoming ballistic missiles at altitudes above 100 kilometers.
The Dasan Jeong Yak-yong destroyer is the second of three 8,200-ton Aegis destroyers that Seoul aims to acquire under the Gwanggaeto-III Batch-II project. The Navy commissioned the first 8,200-ton Jeongjo the Great destroyer in December last year.