HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Completes Basic Design of 'Korean Next-Generation Destroyer'

Perspective view of the Korean next-generation destroyer. Photo by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries recently held a completion ceremony for the basic design of the 6,500-ton Korean next-generation destroyer (KDDX) at its Ulsan headquarters, attended by government officials from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the Navy, the Agency for Defense Development, the Defense Technology Quality Institute, and the Defense Rapid Acquisition Technology Research Institute, the company announced on the 27th.

It has been three years since HD Hyundai Heavy Industries received the KDDX basic design contract from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration in 2020 and began the design work.

The KDDX is a future-type warship weapon system comparable to the Jeongjo Daewang, the highest-performance Aegis destroyer currently in service, and is regarded as an advanced scientific and technological asset to be operated as the Navy's next strategic asset.

The KDDX, whose basic design was recently completed, implements a "fully electric propulsion system." To achieve this, it applied the first large-capacity, high-output integrated electric propulsion system in a domestic warship. The integrated electric propulsion system is equipped with the world's first 25 MW (megawatt)-class ultra-large propulsion motor.

Additionally, the recent KDDX basic design incorporates a "personnel reduction platform." Through advanced automation and electrification technologies, it applied automated ammunition transfer equipment, a smart bridge (a new concept control room designed to reduce the number of crew members on the ship), and an advanced navigation assistance system for warships based on autonomous navigation technology.

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