[World News] South Korea to Give 'Pohang' Class Corvette to Philippine

Pohang class corvettes, length 88,3m displacement 1200 ton (photo : Militaryphotos)

Manila ★ The South Korean government will be donating a corvette to the Philippines before the end of 2014, Department of National Defense spokesperson Dr. Peter Paul Galvez said on Thursday.

He added that the corvette will be one of South Korea's "Pohang" class and there is a big possibility that the ship will be handed to the Philippine Navy with all its weapons and sensor system intact.

The "Pohang" class corvette is a general purpose vessel operated by the Republic of Korean Navy.

They have served in a coastal defense role during the late Cold War and post Cold War period. A total of 24 "Pohang" class vessels were built, all constructed in South Korea. Twenty-one vessels remain in service.

A "Pohang" class corvette weighs around 1,200 long tons and has a length of 289 feet and 8 inches.

It has a beam of 32 feet and 10 inches and a draft of nine feet and six inches.

The ship is powered by CODOG (combined diesel and gas propulsion system). "Pohang" corvettes have a maximum speed of 32 knots and a cruising speed of 15 knots.

It has a range of 4,000 nautical miles and a crew of 95 officers and enlisted personnel. Sensors and processing systems include one AN/SQS-58 hull-mounted sonar.

The ships are armed with Harpoon and Exocet anti-ship missiles, a 76mm Oto Melara automatic cannon, a Breda 40mm twin cannons and two Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes (with 6 Mark 46 torpedoes) and 12 Mark 9 depth charges.

Announcement that South Korea will be giving a "Pohang" class corvette to the Philippines came in the wake of reports that the former will be also donating an LCU (landing craft utility) to the Navy.

  ★ Balita