SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's arms procurement agency said Tuesday that it had entered the completion phase to develop the combat system of its indigenous submarines.
The project to develop the combat system for 3,000-ton Chang Bogo III submarines recently received an assessment from the defense ministry that it is provisionally suitable for combat, according to the press release from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
The combat system, called the "brain" of submarines, refers to an operating system integrating and processing data relevant to combat.
The final approval would be granted after test-operating the combat system equipped in submarines.
South Korea plans to develop its homegrown 3,000-ton submarines under the Chang Bogo III project and to build a total of nine such subs.
The first batch was slated to be launched next year. The new 3,000-ton submarines would replace nine aging 1,200-ton subs in stages.
The sonar system under the country's homegrown submarine development project was already assessed in June by the defense ministry to be suitable for use, according to the DAPA.
The sonar system, dubbed the "ears" of submarines, is a core element of the 3,000-ton indigenous subs along with the combat system.
