The Navy's Next-Generation Fast Patrol Boat Stalled Due to Defective Engine

The Bald Eagle-B PKMR-211 is sailing off the coast of Busan for final equipment inspection before being delivered to the Navy.

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has been revealed that the Navy's next-generation high-speed patrol boats have been repeatedly halted due to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) introducing unverified ship engines.

On the 20th, Hong Young-pyo, a member of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea, received the "High-Speed Ship Project Equipment Acquisition Technical Review Committee Result Report" from DAPA. According to the report, the Navy decided to introduce the new high-speed patrol boat Geomdoksuri-B (Batch-Ⅰ) after the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong in 2002, but DAPA exempted the durability performance test for the engine without verification.

To install an engine on a new high-speed patrol boat, regulations require either 125 repetitions of an 8-hour continuous performance test or submission of records showing operation of the same engine for over 1,000 hours on domestic naval vessels. However, the domestic company H, which planned to produce the American-made Geomdoksuri-B engine through technical cooperation, was exempted from all these conditions.

When H introduced the engine in 2014, it requested funding from DAPA, stating that durability performance testing would require a budget exceeding 1 billion KRW. In April of the following year, H also claimed that the durability performance test was unnecessary, citing 1,800 hours of operation already completed in the United States. Ultimately, DAPA exempted the durability performance test without any verification.

As a result, the engines of the new high-speed patrol boats, which did not undergo durability performance testing, have repeatedly stopped. Cracks have appeared in the engine cylinders of four new high-speed patrol boats already delivered to the Navy and one undergoing sea trials. The four vessels in operation experienced engine cylinder damage after only 800 hours of operation, and the one under sea trials developed cracks in the engine in less than 500 hours. For the first vessel delivered to the Navy, this is the third occurrence of engine cylinder cracks.

Following ongoing complaints from the Navy, DAPA requested H to conduct durability testing. H stated in July that conducting the durability test would require software installation and securing a test site, necessitating a test period of 30 months. To carry out the durability test, the Navy's next-generation high-speed patrol boats, which have been commissioned, would have to cease operation for 30 months. DAPA also stated that it is practically difficult to conduct an internal audit since the head of the high-speed ship project team, who decided to exempt the engine durability performance test, resigned four months ago.

Representative Hong said, "DAPA must clearly reveal whether there were any illegal aspects in the process of exempting the durability test for the next-generation high-speed patrol boat engines," adding, "The fundamental cause of the engine defects must be identified through an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection, and fundamental alternatives for the high-speed patrol boats must be prepared."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.