1 photo

Documents

Warship

South Korea

Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering)

Daegu-class frigate

South Korea's second-batch frigate under the FFX program, built to replace older Ulsan-class frigates and Pohang-class corvettes with a hybrid CODLOG propulsion system and a hull-mounted plus towed-array sonar for enhanced anti-submarine warfare. Eight ships have been completed, each carrying a 16-cell K-VLS and eight SSM-700K Haeseong anti-ship missiles.

In service since 2018

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02

3,100

4,500

nmi

VLS

140

crew

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

ROK export-licensed

DAPA-administered; aggressive export posture with financing/offset packages.

Channel: Government-to-government

Fielded & proven

Operator data not public

In service since 2018. Status: active · ~8 built.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

No public unit price to model from. Why so few systems publish one →

Interoperability

Mk 41 VLS-class

Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.

Compatible munitions & weapons

Publicly reported weapons the Daegu-class frigate can carry. Linked items have a full spec page.

K745 Blue Shark torpedo

SSM-700K Haeseong anti-ship missile

Full specifications

Firepower

Armament, payload and guidance.

Firepower specifications
Main armament Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type.	127 mm Mk 45 Mod 4 naval gun
VLS cells Vertical-launch missile cells on a warship, a proxy for magazine depth. Higher means more missiles before rearming.	16 Stronger than 22% of warships
Torpedo tubes Number of torpedo tubes (submarines and some surface ships).	6 Stronger than 70% of warships

Physical

Dimensions, weight and crew.

Physical specifications
Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.	122 m

Naval

Displacement, speed, endurance and diving depth.

Naval specifications
Displacement Standard displacement in tonnes, the ship’s size class. Larger hulls carry more but cost more and are less agile.	3,100 t
Full-load displacement Displacement fully loaded with fuel, stores and munitions.	3,600 t
Max speed Top speed in knots (surfaced, for submarines). Higher aids positioning and screening.	30 kn Stronger than 75% of warships
Range Cruising range in nautical miles. Nuclear vessels are effectively unlimited (fuel-wise). Higher means more reach without replenishment.	4,500 nmi Stronger than 29% of warships
Complement Crew size. Fewer eases manning cost; more may indicate a larger, more capable platform.	140
Aircraft carried Embarked aircraft/helicopters. Higher extends the ship’s sensor and strike reach.	1 Stronger than 21% of warships
Propulsion plant Machinery type, nuclear reactor, gas turbine (COGAG), CODAG, diesel-electric, AIP.	Combined diesel-electric or gas (CODLOG): 1x Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine, 4x MTU diesel engines, 2x Leonardo DRS electric motors

Sensors & avionics

Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.

Sensors & avionics specifications
Radar Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art.	SPS-550K air search radar, SPG-540K fire control radar
Sensors IRST, EO/IR turrets, laser designators, sniper pods, thermal sights.	SQS-240K hull-mounted sonar, SQR-250K towed array sonar