Locally known as Mine Sweeping Hunter II (MSH-II) Project, this program aims to replace six Ganggyeong-class Mine Hunter Crafts (MHC) whose life cycles have arrived, and supplement Yangyang-class MSH that are currently in active service with Korean Navy.
According to the press release, the MSH-II project is estimated to cost 1.78 trillion South Korean won, which translates into roughly $1.44 billion USD. Among many local shipbuilders, Kangnam Co., Ltd., an experienced enterprise that has previous experiences with building MHC and MSH-I class minehunters for ROK Navy, won a contract for this project. Under this agreement, Kangnam Co., Ltd. will finish the basic design of the MSH-II by 2025, with the first ship scheduled to arrive in 2029.
It is also worth mentioning that many critical components such as Variable Depth Sonar (VDS) and sensitive mine-suppression equipment will be produced with domestic R&D to assure a stable follow-up logistics support once the ships have been commissioned. Statement released by DAPA also includes that localizing the core components will eventually have a boosting effect K-Defense Industry and contribute to the accumulation of advanced mine-countermeasures technology.
Unlike previous generations of minesweepers that are in service with ROK Navy, MSH-II will actively implement the use of unmanned vehicles in de-mining operations. Some of the examples include Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) for marking the precise location of the mines using the sonar, Mine Disposal Vehicles (MDV) and Remote-Operated Vehicles (ROV) for the detonation or the removal of mines detected within the ship’s operating area. This automation is expected to cut down on ship’s hourly operating costs, as well as improving the crews’ survivability and ship’s operability within areas where manned operation is deemed hazardous.
MSH-II specifications
Turning now to the specifications, MSH-II will reportedly have a displacement of 500 to 700-tonnes at full load, which is similar to its sibling Yangyang-class MSH. The ship will be armed with one 20mm M61 Vulcan, supplemented by two 7.62mm M60 machine guns that can fire up to 650 rounds per minute. What is also notable is the material used to build the ship. As MSH-II will be purposely built for mine countermeasures, the ship needs to minimize the magnetic attraction as magnetic mines can easily detonate near magnetic objects, including metal of course. Thus, the entire hull will be built with Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) other than traditional materials.
