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ADEX 2023 and other defense exhibitions and seminars are emphasizing the export efforts of Korean submarines. This is because, despite the tremendous technical success, the Korean submarine industry is still running at a loss. The Korean shipbuilding industry has succeeded in independently designing and building the world-class Dosan Ahn Changho-class submarine, but the actual business results from the submarine are poor.
According to the content reported in the submarine seminar, the Korean shipbuilding industry has suffered a loss of about -6~7% in the submarine sector so far, and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering is barely making a small profit, while HD Hyundai is recording a huge loss.
If you look at the announcement of HD Hyundai
, the reason for the loss is that it invested about 200 billion won in facility costs to participate in the Son Won-il-class submarine business, and conducted a loss bid to win the business rights. The ambitious Dolphin-class special warfare submarine construction project (contract quantity O) was delivered much later than originally planned, and delivered O last year, and plans to deliver O this year, and the trial and error in the meantime resulted in a huge loss.
2,000 billion won in facility costs and a loss bid to win the business rights. The ambitious Dolphin-class special warfare submarine construction project (contract quantity O) was delivered much later than originally planned, and delivered O last year, and plans to deliver O this year, and the trial and error in the meantime resulted in a huge loss.
In addition, HD Hyundai incurred about 1,000 billion won (based on HD Hyundai’s announcement) in facility investment costs while constructing the Jang Bogo-III-class 3rd ship Shin Chae-ho, and reported a loss of -13%.
Given this situation, domestic submarine companies are strategically targeting the overseas submarine market, and at the same time, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration is preparing to play the role of a mediator to prevent a bloody competition among domestic submarine companies.
This is a concept diagram of the Jang Bogo–III PN-type submarine for export to the Philippines, which Hanwha Ocean has made public.
Submarine Exports to the Philippines, Poland, and Canada
If Korea succeeds in exporting submarines to the Philippines, which currently looks the most promising, it will not only mean a victory in a proper competition with Western submarine specialist companies, not a low-bid, but also the acquisition of a proven export-type 2,000-ton submarine type. In addition, the export-type 2,000-ton submarine has a fairly high localization rate of equipment, so the success of the export can be a basis for strengthening the entire domestic submarine industry base.
In addition, the export-type 2,000-ton submarine has a fairly high localization rate of equipment, so the success of the export can be a basis for strengthening the entire domestic submarine industry base.
So, what do submarine companies think?
First of all, Hanwha Ocean was not so pleased with the mediator position of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration related to submarine exports. The reason is that the Jang Bogo-III itself is a model designed by the company-led development project performed by Hanwha Ocean, so dividing the business with HD Hyundai is a loss from their perspective.
Especially, the Jang Bogo-III Batch II project is being delayed due to the skyrocketing construction cost problem reported by Bonji, so HD Hyundai has not been able to access the latest lithium battery propulsion system and other new technologies introduced in the Jang Bogo-III Batch II at all.
Moreover, HD Hyundai went through a tremendous trial and error while going through the Dolphin project, and naturally, the business department cannot afford to recklessly adventure in the overseas submarine business.
HD Hyundai incurred about 1,000 billion won (based on HD Hyundai’s announcement) in facility investment costs while constructing the Jang Bogo-III-class 3rd ship Shin Chae-ho, and reported a loss of -13%.
So, currently Hanwha Ocean, which is actively participating in the submarine export business to the Philippines, Poland, and Canada, is developing submarine technology for the Arctic Sea in response to the operational requirements of the Canadian Navy in the Arctic Sea.
Through the e-book monograph <한국 해군 전력증강과 신기술 2023>, we have analyzed the current submarine technology capabilities in Korea and the latest submarine technology being developed for the Korean Navy and for export in detail.
This is a concept diagram of the UK’s next-generation Dreadnought-class strategic nuclear submarine. In Korea, too, future submarine technologies are being actively developed for the next-generation submarine.
Research on Domestic Next-Generation Submarines
The Agency for Defense Development revealed the <수중함 과도기동 모델 정밀화 기술> project through MADEX 2023. This project is to develop technology for the next-generation submarine hull and direction control system, more precisely, to develop the Joubert BB submarine model.
The Agency for Defense Development developed a reduced submarine model for the SSX (Next Generation Submarine) project, the predecessor of the Jang Bogo-III project, in the 1990s, but lost it during the testing process in the lake.
Then, once again, <수중함 과도기동 모델 정밀화 기술>through the project, it developed the Joubert BB submarine model and announced that it will accumulate the basic technology necessary for the development of the next-generation submarine hull using this experience. We analyzed it in detail.
Design process of Jang Bogo-III-class hull
In the early 1990s, when the Ministry of Defense announced the demand for a 3,000-ton next-generation medium-sized submarine construction project, the Agency for Defense Development conducted a next-generation medium-sized submarine concept study from 1993 to 1995.
The next-generation medium-sized submarine derived from the study at that time It was a fairly advanced model with a full load displacement of about 3,500 tons, equipped with a vertical launcher, pump jet propulsion equipment and acoustic absorption tiles.
However, at that time, it was impossible to build it independently with domestic technology, so a development plan was sought to jointly build a new submarine by 2004, using a joint design linked with a famous overseas submarine manufacturer.
A miniaturized submarine model developed by the Defense Science Research Institute for submarine hull research was lost during a test in a lake.
◆ Hull Research by the Defense Science Research Institute
With the advent of the 1990s, CFD(Computation Fluid Dynamics) began to be introduced into submarine design work. In other words, it became possible to simulate the maneuvering (6 degrees of freedom) of the submarine using a computer, along with the hydrodynamic shape design of the submarine.
However, even at this point, it is not possible to secure accurate shape and maneuver data with a computer alone, so you need to use a miniaturized submarine that is reduced to about 1/15 of the size of a real submarine and can navigate autonomously underwater to verify its maneuverability and hydrodynamic shape.
This is a scene where a CFD program is used to design a submarine hull. To enhance the reliability of the CFD program, you must have accurate technical data.
The Defense Science Research Institute also developed a miniaturized submarine model capable of actual underwater maneuvers in order to use it in the development of the next medium-sized submarine, but it was lost during a test in a lake and has not been found yet.
In addition to the disappearance of the miniaturized submarine model, the Kim Dae-jung government changed the construction method of the next medium-sized submarine, causing the Defense Science Research Institute to miss the opportunity for systematic submarine technology development. In other words, originally, the Defense Science Research Institute was planning to develop the next submarine through technical cooperation with overseas cooperation companies (Germany’s HDW or Russia), but the Kim Dae-jung government put forward a plan to secure submarine design technology using offset trade while proceeding with the construction project of the medium-sized submarine called KSS-Ⅱ.
The submarine selected for the KSS-Ⅱ project was the 214-class submarine, so in principle, Germany’s HDW had to transfer submarine design technology to Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Hyundai Heavy Industries, but of course, HDW was not a fool to nurture competitors.
This is the DSX-3000 medium-sized submarine (3,000-ton class) model developed by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in conjunction with HDW over a period of 13.5 months and with a design cost of 5 billion won, providing the core basic technology for the future Jang Bogo-III construction project.
Submarine Design by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering
In response to the new competitor, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (now Hanwha Ocean) dispatched 27 submarine design agents to HDW to secure the next submarine construction technology and invested in 13.5 months and X billion won in design costs to design a medium-sized submarine with a displacement of 3,000 tons, called DSX-3000.
The DSX-3000 that was designed like this looks like the Jang Bogo-III, and it is said that it was used as a key reference design model in the actual Jang Bogo-III construction project.
We have analyzed in detail the design process and trials and errors of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering’s Jang Bogo-III and the technology secured at that time <한국 해군 전력증강과 신기술 2023>.
This is the Joubert BB model revealed by the Defense Science Research Institute participating in MADEX 2023. As a miniaturized model capable of actual underwater maneuvering, it is possible to verify the hull of the next-generation submarine only if we can independently develop such a miniaturized submarine model.
Challenge of Basic Technology by the Defense Science Research Institute
The Defense Science Research Institute is conducting a project to make the Joubert BB model, which has been publicly announced by the famous Dutch submarine shape design research institute MARIN, in the same way in Korea.
In other words, since MARIN has publicly released the shape data and fluid dynamics data of the BB, a submarine design model with excellent hydrodynamic shape design and X-shaped tail, they are going to do the same in Korea.
What does this mean?
As explained earlier, a miniaturized model test that can navigate autonomously underwater is needed for submarine shape and underwater maneuver design, but there is no such basic technology in Korea. And for the development of innovative submarine hulls like the 212CD of Germany, not the conventional hull like the current Jang Bogo-III, separate miniaturized model development and test technology is needed.
However, since the development of a miniaturized model capable of autonomous navigation is not easy in reality, they plan to make the BB submarine model, whose external design and fluid dynamics data have already been released, in the same way in Korea. (Miniature submarine manufacturing is in charge of POSTECH)
We have analyzed in detail the efforts of the Defense Science Research Institute to accumulate next-generation submarine construction technology.
This is a conceptual diagram comparing the hulls of the 212-class submarine and the 212CD-class submarine, and you can confirm that the 212CD has a unique hexagonal hull.
