South Korea Flexes Its Naval Might with the Induction of the Shin Chae Ho Submarine

Shin Chae Ho submarine exclusively designed with South Korean technology
The last submarine of the Chang Bogo-3 Batch-1 Project
2024 Military Power Rankings: USA 1st, South Korea 5th, North Korea 36th

Shin Chae Ho, a powerful 3,000-ton submarine designed and built with South Korean technology, has been delivered to the Navy, and a commemorative event was held.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) successfully held a delivery and acceptance ceremony for the last submarine of the ‘Chang Bogo-3 Batch-1′ project, which started in 2007, at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Ulsan shipyard on April 4th. The project, which began with the delivery of the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho in 2021, followed by the Anmu in 2023, and the Shin Chae Ho this year, showcased our technological prowess.

Key personnel from our Navy, the Defense Quality Assurance Agency, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and other major related organizations attended the event, followed by military officials from nine countries, including the United States, Poland, and Australia.

One official explained the significance of the Shin Chae Ho’s delivery: “It’s not just the successful completion of the domestically designed strategic submarine Chang Bogo-3·1 phase project, but also the establishment of a manufacturing and infrastructure environment, which gives it special meaning.”

Since the introduction of the first 1,200-ton Chang Bogo-1, completed in Germany in 1992, South Korea has domestically processed and assembled eight and nine Chang Bogo-2-class submarines, with all the necessary blueprints and materials supplied from Germany.

Beginning with the Chang Bogo-3 class, our domestic technology has shown remarkable progress, capable of independent research and development based on accumulated know-how.

The recently delivered Shin Chae Ho has successfully nationalized key submarine equipment, including combat and sonar systems (which detect underwater obstacles by emitting ultrasonic waves) and propulsion systems.

It has a vertical launch system capable of operating an advanced SLBM (Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile), demonstrating superior technology.

DAPA explained that the latest technologies, such as the AIP (Air Independent Propulsion) system and noise reduction technology, have been applied. The submarine can also accurately strike ground targets and improve stealth and stability, which can be considered the “flower” of a submarine, allowing for effective operations.

Han Kyung Ho, the head of DAPA’s Future Power Projects Bureau, said, “With the delivery of the Shin Chae Ho, a submarine that can confidently compete with the world’s best and developed with our independent technology, on April 4th, the 3,000-ton Chang Bogo-3 Batch-1 project that started in 2007 has been a great success. We expect K-defense to lead the fiercely competitive global defense export market, strengthening national security and marking a milestone.”

Meanwhile, the Navy announced that the successfully delivered Shin Chae Ho would be deployed for actual combat after about eight months of power training and a detailed Navy evaluation.

Our military, which possesses its submarine construction technology, ranked in the ‘TOP 5’ in the ‘2024 Global Firepower’ report released by the American military power evaluation agency Global Firepower (GFP) last January.

According to the report, South Korea scored 0.1416 in the military power evaluation index, ranking 5th among the 145 countries surveyed, an improvement from the 6th place recorded last year (2023).

Our military’s GFP military power ranking has steadily risen from 9th in 2013 to 7th in 2014, but growth has slowed since 2020, maintaining the 6th place for three years until last year.

While South Korea’s military power has been increasing, North Korea’s military power fell from 34th last year (2023) to 36th this year, recording a GFP evaluation index of 0.5313.

North Korea, which had risen to 18th in 2019 and achieved the feat of entering the world’s top 20, has been continuously falling since. Experts analyze that North Korea’s international isolation, domestic economic difficulties, and the COVID-19 pandemic have influenced the weakening of its military power.

The GFP military power evaluation index, closer to 0, signifies more substantial military power. It is calculated using more than 60 detailed indicators, including the weapons type, number, economic power, mobilizable manpower during wartime, and defense budget.

Meanwhile, South Korea ranked 11th in the defense budget category among countries, showing a somewhat lower figure. North Korea’s defense budget ranked 58th among 145 countries.

The country with the strongest military power was the United States, the only country to record in the 0.06 range (0.0699), followed by Russia (0.0702) in 2nd place, and China (0.0706) in 3rd place, all in the 0.0n range. Starting from India (0.1023) in 4th place, they recorded in the 0.1 range. Following South Korea, the 6th and 7th places were occupied by the UK (0.1443) and Japan (0.1601), respectively.