New Technology Saves 500 Billion KRW in Construction Costs of Dosan An Changho-class Ship

Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute Unveils 3 Defense Technologies at Exhibition
Non-lethal Long-range High-power Electromagnetic Weapon
High-performance Propeller with Over 10% Output Improvement
Technology for Performance Verification of Electric Ships on Land Also Presented

Electric ship land test facility developed by Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (from left), gyrotron, the core equipment of a high-power electromagnetic non-lethal personnel incapacitation system, and a counter-rotating propeller based on a contactless magnetic gear.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] High-power electromagnetic waves, a non-lethal anti-personnel weapon that selectively disables targets from a distance, and the electric ship land test facility that quickly and efficiently constructed Korea’s first medium-sized submarine, the Dosan An Changho, on land. These are defense technologies that the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) will showcase starting from the 6th at the ‘2022 Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin Defense Industry Exhibition’ held at the Naval Academy in Jinhae, Changwon City.

At this exhibition, KERI will introduce ▲Electric Ship Land Test Facility (LBTS) ▲High-power electromagnetic wave (millimeter wave)-based non-lethal anti-personnel incapacitation system ▲Non-contact magnetic gear-based contra-rotating propeller for ships and aircraft ▲Electric ship unmanned autonomous navigation control system technology.

The Electric Ship Land Test Facility (LBTS) is a ship propulsion system test facility that KERI established in 2015 as the first of its kind in Korea and the third in the world (after the USA and the UK), with a total project cost of 40.5 billion KRW supported by Gyeongnam Province and Changwon City. Electric ships have propulsion systems installed underneath, making maintenance difficult if a failure or problem occurs, often requiring disassembly of the ship for repairs. However, the LBTS developed by KERI is a facility that can verify and improve the performance of electric ships on land, accelerating the era of electric ships. Notably, it conducted a total of 401 test items for the pre-performance verification of Korea’s first medium-sized submarine, the Dosan An Changho, identifying 192 improvements and supplements. This resulted in a construction period reduction of 368 days and a cost saving of 468.4 billion KRW from avoiding delays in commissioning. Including the technology import substitution effect of 37 billion KRW and regional economic revitalization effect of 27 billion KRW, the total integrated effect exceeds 500 billion KRW.

The high-power electromagnetic wave (millimeter wave)-based non-lethal anti-personnel incapacitation system is a kind of ‘pain weapon.’ When high-power electromagnetic waves are directed at a person’s skin, it causes pain similar to opening a hot oven without risking life or causing physical injury. Another advantage is that it can precisely strike targets at distances more than 10 times farther than conventional weapons at speeds similar to light. It is attracting attention as a humanitarian new weapon suitable for situations requiring minimal casualties, such as territorial disputes in maritime zones and violent protests.

The non-contact magnetic gear-based contra-rotating propeller for ships and aircraft uses the repelling and attracting forces between the north and south poles of magnets to transmit power without contact between gear components, generating propulsion. Two propellers arranged axially rotate in opposite directions to recover and recycle energy, achieving the world’s first result of improving propulsion efficiency by more than 10% for ships and aircraft.

The electric ship unmanned autonomous navigation control system simulates various scenarios (waypoint control, obstacle avoidance, cooperative navigation, etc.) under real conditions (ship model, weather, navigation environment, etc.) in advance to reduce the development time and cost of actual ships and improve energy efficiency. It is expected to greatly contribute to the activation of future ship industries such as smart port construction.