The Invisible Force: 'Jamsu-ham'

[Korean Submarine Project Group Commander Brigadier General Jo Dong-jin] Submarines are weapon systems whose very existence poses a tremendous threat due to their invisible stealth. Therefore, submarines are sometimes classified as asymmetric weapons or strategic weapon systems. However, designing, constructing, and operating submarines independently is by no means easy. In September 2018, South Korea became the 12th country in the world to independently design and build a submarine with the launch of the 3,000-ton Jangbogo-III class submarine, Dosan Ahn Changho. Currently, only eight countries operate submarines over 3,000 tons: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, Japan, Australia, and India.

The Dosan Ahn Changho successfully completed its maximum operational depth test last July and is currently undergoing trial evaluations. It is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in mid-December this year. Since acquiring the 1,200-ton 209-class Jangbogo submarine from Germany in 1992, South Korea has operated a total of nine submarines, with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering constructing eight of them. Since 2007, South Korea has also domestically built nine 1,800-ton 214-class Son Won-il submarines after receiving technology transfer from Germany.

In contrast, the Jangbogo-III Dosan Ahn Changho is a 3,000-ton submarine built entirely with domestic design technology, with most of its key core equipment such as combat and sonar systems domestically produced, achieving a localization rate of 76%. Although South Korea started its submarine construction program about 100 years later than advanced countries, it has secured independent design and construction capabilities within a short period and plans to increase the localization rate through evolutionary development in the future.

When it was announced that the Jangbogo-III submarine would be designed and built purely with domestic technology, many expressed concerns, and even submarine-advanced countries were skeptical about whether South Korea could independently build submarines. However, the Dosan Ahn Changho successfully completed its launch and maximum operational depth diving tests according to the planned schedule. Once delivered to the Navy in December, the world will once again recognize South Korea’s submarine design and construction capabilities, creating a significant impact in the global diesel submarine market.

Currently, to complete 100% of the trial evaluations for the Dosan Ahn Changho, related organizations including the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the Navy, the Agency for Defense Development, the Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering, and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering are working together. Just as the submarine unit safety slogan says, “If you dive 100 times, you surface 100 times,” we are confident in the “100% surfacing (success)” of the Jangbogo-III submarine project.