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South Korea HD Hyundai Heavy Industries
Sejong the Great-class destroyer
South Korea's Aegis-equipped guided-missile destroyer class and one of the most heavily armed surface combatants in the world, carrying up to 128 vertical launch cells across Mk 41 and K-VLS systems. It gives the Republic of Korea Navy a blue-water air-defense and strike capability built around the AN/SPY-1D(V) radar shared with US Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
In service since 2008
Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02
7,650
t
30
kn
5,500
nmi
128
VLS
300
crew
💲 ≈ $923,000,000 (public figure)
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 2008. Status: active · ~4 built.
Lifecycle cost (est.)
$2.3B – $3.2B
Acquisition is only ~30% of lifecycle cost — operating & support dominate over ~35 yrs. Rough 2.5–3.5× the unit price.
Interoperability
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.
Full specifications
Firepower
Armament, payload and guidance.
- Main armament
Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type.
- 127mm/L62 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.
- 128 Top 1% of warships
- Torpedo tubes
Number of torpedo tubes (submarines and some surface ships).
- 6 Stronger than 69% of warships
Physical
Dimensions, weight and crew.
- Length
Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.
- 166 m
Sensors & avionics
Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.
- Radar
Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art.
- AN/SPY-1D(V) multi-function radar
Program
Cost, production scale and operators.
- Unit cost
Approximate flyaway/unit cost where public. Defense pricing varies hugely by contract, offsets and configuration. Lower is cheaper.
- $923,000,000 Stronger than 63% of warships
- Units built
Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability.
- 4 Stronger than 57% of warships
Specifications compiled from public HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations — treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.
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What is the main armament of the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Sejong the Great-class destroyer? +
The HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Sejong the Great-class destroyer's primary weapon is the 127mm/L62 Mk 45 Mod 4 naval gun.
What is the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Sejong the Great-class destroyer used for? +
The HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Sejong the Great-class destroyer is a warship typically used for air defense, anti ship.
How much does the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Sejong the Great-class destroyer cost? +
The HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Sejong the Great-class destroyer has an approximate unit cost of 923,000,000 USD. Defense pricing varies by contract, offsets and configuration — treat this as directional.
