The South Korean authorities have announced the final design validation of the 3 new Sejong the Great class destroyers for its navy, which already has 3 such units delivered in 2008 and 2012, paving the way to start construction. of the 3 buildings.
The Sejon the Great class Aegis destroyers, resulting from the KDX-III project, are among the most powerful surface ships to date, yielding only to Russian Kirov and American Ticonderoga cruisers. Measuring nearly 11.000 tons in load for 165 m long, they carry 80 anti-aircraft missiles SM2 Block III / IV in Mk41 silos coupled to Lockheed's AN / SPY-1 radar equipping Ticonderoga cruisers, 48 Hyumnoo III cruise missiles in K-VLS silo, 16 SSM-700 K Haeseong anti-ship missiles and a RAM Block 1 self-defense system with 21 RIM-116 missiles. The arsenal is completed by 1 Mk45 naval gun of 127 mm, and a self-defense system CIWS Goalkeeper of 30mm, to which are added the 2 triple tubes for K745 Blue Shark torpedoes. In addition, the buildings has a power production of 75 MWh thanks to its 4 General Electric LM2500 CODAG turbines, offering a significant capacity for development and transport for new systems, in particular directed energy weapons.
This validation, like that of the order for 3 additional AIP KSS-III submarines, comes as the Chinese Navy receives its first Type 055 heavy destroyers of 13.000 tonnes, carrying 112 silos for long missiles (anti-aircraft, cruises, etc.). ) and 24 short silos for anti-aircraft self-defense missiles. and that the Japanese Self-Defense Forces will receive the first Maya-class Aegis destroyer, also heavily armed.
In recent years, we have witnessed a rapid and massive build-up of naval forces in the Western Pacific, a phenomenon without precedent since the end of the Korean War. The major naval nations, China, Japan, South Korea, the United States and Australia, are engaged in a dynamic of transformation, modernization and strengthening of their surface and submarine fleets, integrating new types of vessels, heavily armed, intended to support high-intensity engagements.
In comparison, the formats of European navies, like their buildings, seem completely out of step with what is practiced today in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. We may wonder, in this context, how the French Navy and its 15 first-rate frigates hope to be able to ensure national sovereignty and the protection of some 1 million km8 of French Exclusive Economic Zone in the Indo- Pacific?