JFS Program: Ballistic Missile Arsenal Ship for the South Korean Navy
Possible appearance of JFS ships in the version from DSME
The military and political leadership of the Republic of Korea continues to develop military plans in the event of an open clash with the DPRK. One of the key elements of the new strategy is surface ships carrying ballistic missiles, which will be able to strike at distant targets of a potential enemy. This concept was called the Joint Firepower Ship and is now being implemented as part of a full-fledged development work.
Strategy element
Not so long ago, the South Korean leadership announced the development of a new strategy to counter the DPRK called the Korea Massive Punishment & Retaliation plan (“Korean plan for massive punishment and retribution”). The KMPR concept provides for the creation of a number of new ground, air and sea-based strike and defense systems.
In the event of a full-scale conflict, promising means of different bases will have to strike at the critical infrastructure of the DPRK. At the same time, defense systems will protect their own facilities from North Korean missiles.
In the KMPR strategy, a large role is assigned to the marine component. One of the main strike assets in its composition will be surface ships equipped with medium-range or shorter-range ballistic missiles. The idea of developing such an “arsenal ship” has been proposed before, but only in the recent past did the South Korean military begin to work it out in relation to a real strategy.
Now it is known that recently the Ministry of Defense of South Korea has not only studied the subject of missile ships. Not later than last year, preliminary development of such a project on a competitive basis was started. Recently, the customer compared the proposed projects and chose the most interesting one, which will now be developed.
The launch of missiles[/ Center]
Winning project
The program for the development of a promising "arsenal ship" received the Korean name "Naval Missile Base". The English designation Joint Firepower Ship ("Single firepower ship") is also used. In both cases, the title of the topic reflects its essence well.
Two of the largest South Korean shipbuilding companies, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), participated in the competitive stage of the Joint Firepower Ship program. They have extensive experience in military shipbuilding, which has helped them solve specific design problems and create new projects in general.
According to the South Korean television channel SBS, the Republic of Korea Navy announced the winner of the competition on April 11. The project from DSME was considered more successful in all respects. It is of greater interest in terms of calculated technical and operational characteristics. Further development of such a project will allow the fleet get a ship with the right capabilities.
It is curious that the results of the competition were influenced not only by the features of the developed projects, but also by the reputation of the participants. So, a few years ago, HHI leaked classified information about one of the promising programs. She still hasn't been able to fully regain her credibility and this has worsened her position in the current JFS competition.
The winning company received a new contract, according to which it will have to complete the preliminary design of a promising rocket ship. These works will be carried out before the end of this year, after which the project will pass the examination of the customer. Then a full-fledged technical design and development of documentation will begin, according to which they will be able to build a ship in the future.
The results of the current design stage are planned to be received within the next five years. Probably, during this period, the laying of the lead ship may take place. In total, at the moment they plan to build three promising JFS. With so many ships, at least one will be constantly at sea and on combat duty. However, the timing of the start of duty and the emergence of the possibility of a full-fledged rotation has not yet been determined.
On April 13, shortly after the issuance of the design contract, a related program was launched. The 152nd Committee for the Promotion of Defense Projects of the Ministry of Defense approved and launched the development of a missile system with a ballistic missile for JFS. Work will begin in the next financial year and will continue until 2036. The creation of the rocket was estimated at 600 billion won (approx. 467 million US dollars).
Possible appearance
At the moment, we are only talking about the development of a general concept, but the development company is already ready to show the approximate appearance of the future ship with missiles. So, a short promotional video was published, which shows the JFS ships at sea and their combat work with the launch of missiles. It is obvious that in the future the appearance of the ships may change, but the general provisions and decisions of the project are clear even now.
The video shows the ships built in a traditional hull and with a characteristic low-profile "inconspicuous" superstructure. The size and displacement of such a ship cannot be estimated. At the same time, it can be assumed that in order to accommodate a given ammunition load, a ship must be no smaller than current destroyers or even approach cruisers. So, the length of the ship can reach 180-200 m, and the displacement can exceed 10 thousand tons.
On the bow deck of the ship, in front of the superstructure, various equipment is placed and, apparently, anti-aircraft launchers. The XNUMXD models show the stand-alone plant and the mine complex. How and with what JFS ships will carry out self-defense has not yet been reported.
The central part of the ship and the main volume of the superstructure are used to accommodate the "main caliber". They will accommodate several vertical launchers with cells for ballistic missiles. In promotional materials, the ship has 12 identical installations, but in a real project their number may be different. According to the terms of reference, the ship must carry 80 missiles.
Recently, South Korea began developing missiles for JFS ships, but the details of this project have not yet been reported. Given the level of technology development in the South Korean rocket industry and the limitations of the surface platform, it can be assumed that short- or medium-range ballistic missiles will be created for ships. These can be special modifications of existing samples or newly developed products.
The Korean peninsula has a limited size, and therefore, even short-range ballistic missiles (500-1500 km) will be enough for JFS ships to solve basic combat missions. Being in the Sea of Japan or the Yellow Sea, the "arsenal ships" will be able to attack any targets throughout the territory of the DPRK. At the same time, depending on the parameters of the missiles used, they will be able to operate at a great distance from the coast, outside the zone of destruction of enemy anti-ship systems.
The use of medium-range missiles flying 1500 km or further will further expand the area of responsibility of the JFS ship and allow solving more complex tasks. However, such a missile system will be much more complicated, which will negatively affect the cost of the program. Also, larger missiles will reduce the possible size of the ammunition on board the ship. In addition, this version of the “arsenal ship” turns out to be redundant for use in the framework of the KMPR plan and confrontation with the DPRK.
old ideas
The concept of an "arsenal ship", which is a platform for placing a large number of strike missiles, was proposed a long time ago. However, with all the advantages, such a concept has drawbacks, due to which no such project has progressed beyond development. At the same time, it contributed to the emergence and wide distribution of universal high-capacity vertical launchers for ships of a "traditional" appearance.
Now South Korea has returned to the old idea of a specialized "arsenal". Due to such ships, she plans to get special strike capabilities as part of the confrontation with her northern neighbor. Whether the South Korean industry will be able to solve the tasks and create the required ship will become known in a few years. Then it will turn out whether a curious but ambiguous concept makes sense in modern conditions.
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