Babcock wins South Korea submarine weapons system contract

Maritime September 20, 2017

Babcock has won a seven year contract to produce and deliver weapons handling and launch equipment for the South Korean Jangbogo III submarine programme.

The contract, due to run until 2024, was awarded by DSME (Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering), for the third boat-set.

Under the deal, procurement and manufacture will begin immediately, with the first hardware deliverable in March 2020. The contract will be delivered by a global supply chain with suppliers in UK, Spain and South Korea. This will be an extension of the highly successful supply chain built up during the first and second boat-sets driving a global, innovative supply chain.

The Weapon Handling Launch System (WHLS) features an air turbine pump (ATP) and programmable firing valve launch (PFV) system and is based on the principles used in the WHLS being supplied by Babcock for other navies, including the UK Astute class and Spanish S-80 submarines. The system offers a number of advantages; being compact and highly efficient as it uses less firing air, meaning the system is quiet too with lower maintenance requirements than other handling and launch systems. This allows for the customer’s demands to be achieved and the provision of the latest technology to the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy.

Babcock Defence Systems Technology Managing Director Jeff Lewis said: “This is another major achievement for Babcock and underlines our ability to work with customers across the world. Babcock’s WHLS has proven itself to be an excellent and efficient solution.”

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Babcock Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering DSME Jangbogo III submarine programme