ROKS Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong is the third ship of the Sejong the Great-class destroyers built for the Republic of Korean Navy. She was the third Aegis-built ship of the service and was named after a scholar-official of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea, Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong.[1]

ROKS Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong underway on 13 August 2015
South Korea
Name	Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong (서애류성룡/西厓柳成龍)
Namesake	Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong
Builder	Hyundai
Launched	24 March 2011
Commissioned	30 August 2012
Identification	Pennant number: DDG-993
Status	Active
General characteristics
Class and type	Sejong the Great-class destroyer
Displacement	8,500 tons standard displacement 11,000 tons full load
Length	166 m (544 ft 7 in)
Beam	21.4 m (70 ft 3 in)
Draft	6.25 m (20 ft 6 in)
Propulsion	4 × General Electric LM2500 COGAG; 2 × shafts; 100,000 shp (75 MW) produced power
Speed	exceeds 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range	5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km; 6,300 mi)
Endurance	30 days
Complement	300 crew
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPY-1D(V) multi-function radar AN/SPG-62 fire control radar DSQS-21BZ-M hull mounted sonar SQR-220K towed array sonar system Sagem Infrared Search & Track (IRST) system
Electronic warfare & decoys	LIG Nex1 SLQ-200K Sonata electronic warfare suite
Armament	1 × 5 inch (127 mm)/L62 caliber Mk 45 Mod 4 naval gun 1 × 30 mm Goalkeeper CIWS 1 × RAM Block 1 CIWS 16 × SSM-700K Haeseong Anti-ship Missiles 2 × triple torpedo tubes for K745 Blue Shark torpedo 80-cell Mk 41 VLS for SM-2 Block IIIB/IV 48-cell K-VLS for: K-ASROC Red Shark Hyunmoo III land attack cruise missiles
Aircraft carried	2 × Super Lynx or SH-60 Seahawk
Aviation facilities	Hangar and helipad

Background

The ship features the Aegis Combat System (Baseline 7 Phase 1) combined with AN/SPY-1D multi-function radar antennae.[1]

The Sejong the Great class is the third phase of the South Korean navy's Korean Destroyer eXperimental (KDX) program, a substantial shipbuilding program, which is geared toward enhancing ROKN's ability to successfully defend the maritime areas around South Korea from various modes of threats as well as becoming a blue-water navy.[2]

At 8,500 tons standard displacement and 11,000 tons full load, the KDX-III Sejong the Great destroyers are by far the largest destroyers in the South Korean Navy, and indeed are larger than most destroyers in the navies of other countries.[3] and built slightly bulkier and heavier than Arleigh Burke-class destroyers or Atago-class destroyers to accommodate 32 more missiles. As such, some analysts believe that this class of ships is more appropriately termed a class of cruisers rather than destroyers.[4] KDX-III are currently the largest ships to carry the Aegis combat system.[5]

Construction and career

ROKS Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong was launched on 14 November 2008 by Hyundai Heavy Industries. She was commissioned into service on 31 August 2010.

RIMPAC Exercise

ROKS Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong, ROKS Wang Geon and submarine ROKS Lee Sunsin participated in RIMPAC 2014.[6]

On 17 August 2020, ROKS Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong sailed to Hawaii with ROKS Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin to participate in the scaled down, at-sea-only 2020 RIMPAC exercises.[7]

Gallery

• ROKS Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong Gallery
• 
  ROKS Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong arriving in Pearl Harbor during RIMPAC 2014.
• 
  ROKS Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong arriving in Pearl Harbor during RIMPAC 2014.
• 
  ROKS Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong in Pearl Harbor during RIMPAC 2014.
• 
  From front to back, USS Momsen, ROKS Seoae Ryu Seyong-ryong, USS Decatur, ROKS Yulgok Yi I and ROKS Kwang Myung on 22 May 2016.
• 
  From front to back, USS Momsen, ROKS Seoae Ryu Seyong-ryong, USS Decatur, ROKS Yulgok Yi I and ROKS Kwang Myung on 22 May 2016.
• 
  ROKS Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong maneuvering during an exercise in the Sea of Japan on 3 October 2013.

References