Hanwha Ocean Demonstrates Warship Expertise with 'Three Warship Brothers' at RIMPAC

Participation in the 2024 Pan-Pacific Training

Hanwha Ocean's warships will play a key role as the main vessels of the navy in the multinational maritime exercise '2024 Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC)'.

Hanwha Ocean announced on the 2nd that the Aegis destroyer KDX-III 'Yulgok Yi I', the KDX-II 'Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin', and the 1800-ton Jangbogo-II submarine 'Lee Beom-seok' will participate as part of the Republic of Korea Navy's RIMPAC task force in the exercises held around Hawaii, USA, until the 2nd of next month. All three vessels were built and delivered by Hanwha Ocean.

KDX-III 'Yulgok Yi I Ham' (Provided by Hanwha Ocean)

These warships will conduct various training exercises including anti-air warfare such as launching the fleet air defense missile SM-2, anti-ship warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and free offensive and defensive operations. This year’s RIMPAC is expected to include 40 surface ships, 3 submarines, about 150 aircraft, and approximately 25,000 personnel from 29 countries including South Korea, the United States, Japan, Canada, and Australia.

In the 2018 exercise, the Yulgok Yi I, built by Hanwha Ocean, served as the maritime battle commander, leading 10 ships from 8 countries including the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Chile, India, and Indonesia, successfully completing operations such as anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare to support the carrier strike group’s mission. This year, recognizing such command capabilities, it will perform the role of deputy commander of the Combined Naval Forces Command, which commands all naval forces, for the first time.

A Hanwha Ocean official said, "The active participation of Yulgok Yi I, Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin, and Lee Beom-seok in RIMPAC will be an opportunity to demonstrate the capabilities of the Republic of Korea Navy and Hanwha Ocean as a prestigious warship builder," adding, "The company is fully prepared to ensure the success of the Korean next-generation destroyer (KDDX) project, which will dramatically enhance South Korea’s naval capabilities."

KDX-II 'Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin' (Provided by Hanwha Ocean)