Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering said it picked up a huge order to build submarines from the Indonesian Ministry of Defense on Wednesday.
The company will build three 1,400-ton class diesel-powered submarines in a project worth about W1.3 trillion (US$1=W1,162), representing the biggest single export contract in the history of Korea’s defense industry.
Daewoo now ranks as the first Korean company to export submarines it has created with its own technologies. It first received technological support from Germany in late 1988 and used this at the time to build a 1,200-ton class submarine.
Daewoo was competing for the recent Indonesian order with a host of powerful rivals, including those from Russia and France, the countries traditionally dominant in diesel-powered submarine building, and Germany. The company was picked as a single negotiator in October and finally won the contract on Wednesday.
Each submarine will be able to carry a crew of 40 and is equipped with eight weapon tubes which enable it to launch torpedoes, mines, guided missiles and other weaponry. The subs will be delivered to the Indonesian Navy by the first half of 2018.
( chosun )
[mappress] Source: chosun, December 21, 2011; Image: alrroya