Dosan Ahn Changho-class submarine

Dosan Ahn Changho class submarines is the final phase of the Korean Attack Submarine program. The first KSS-III ship will be ready for service by 2020. The previous plan was to have an operational unit ready by 2017. Due to the relatively heavy displacement of the ship (3000~3500 tons, over 3800 tons full displacement) and the fact that it will be built with local Korean technologies (sensitive technologies might be blocked from export) the production of the submarine was delayed. This new class of ship will have the Korean Vertical Launching System which will be able to carry up to 10 indigenous Chonryong submarine-launched cruise missiles. The first submarine in the Republic of Korea Navy to have this kind of capability. It will also have many other improvements compared to its predecessors. Reports indicate South Korea might even deploy SLBMs inside the vertical launchers. Development of SLBMs by Agency for Defense Development is expected to be completed by 2020. SLBMs will be a derivative of Hyunmoo-2 ballistic missiles.

[[File:Jangbogo III class submarine Detailed specifications of KSS-III (Jangbogo 3) Batch-I:

Full-length: 83.5m

Beam: 9.6m

Pressure sensor diameter: 7.7m

Draught: 7.62m

Crew: 50 sailors

Maximum speed: 20 knots

Cruising range: 10,000 nm

Surface tonnage: 3358 tons

Submerged tonnage: 3705 tons

KSS-III Batch II

On April 25, 2016 there was a Congressional Hearing session held immediately after North Korea's SLBM launch, which raised some important questions about the ROK Navy's submarine capabilities to counter this threat.

In response to questions whether ROK Navy was currently developing capabilities to counter SLBM threat, the ministry confirmed that KSS-III Batch-II will undergo redesign process before construction (lasting until December 30, 2018) to accommodate some important capability upgrades. These upgrades will give the Batch-II Submarines better capabilities at both attacking strategic land-based facilities and performing anti-submarine warfare.

According to the recent DAPA statement, the Next Generation Submarine Project Team held a "System Functional Review" meeting on KSS-III Batch-II submarine in late June 2017. Through this meeting, the project team was able to confirm the design requirements for the Batch-II submarine under development are well reflected in the design. As a result, following the Batch-I, the Batch-II program has been promoted and the design has begun to materialize.

Expected changes of Batch-II compared to Batch-I:

» Lengthened hull (approximately 10 meters)

» Increase of VLS cells from 6 to 10

» Indigenous combat system and sensors

» LiB and, potentially, High-Temperature Superconductor (HTS) motor for integrated full electric propulsion system