South Korea’s Navy took delivery of the tank landing ship Nojeokbong on 21 November 2018. The LST, expected to enter service in 2019, is the fourth and final unit of the Cheonwangbong class. Also known as the LST-2 class, these new ships have a top speed of 23 knots and a crew of 120. Each LST is able to transport a loadout that includes 300 troops, eight amphibious landing vehicles, three landing craft, and two tanks. The first ship of the class, the Cheonwangbong, entered service in 2014. She was followed by the Cheonjabong in 2017. A third sister, the Ilchulbong, was delivered in spring 2018. All four ships are 417 feet long with a 64-foot beam and 18-foot draft. Each displaces 4,900 tons and has a flight deck that can accommodate two medium-sized helicopters. The new ships will replace the four-ship Kojoonbong (HDL 4000)-class LSTs that entered service in the 1990s.
The Swedish diesel submarine Gotland, oldest of the three-boat Gotland class, completed a comprehensive modernization period and began sea trials on 19 October 2018. Improvements included insertion of a 2-meter hull section to accommodate a diver-lockout chamber. A new version of the Stirling air-independent propulsion system was installed to extend her operational duration, providing an underwater endurance now measured in weeks. The Gotland’s traditional periscope was replaced by an optronic mast to enhance surveillance capabilities. New technical specifications for the modernized submarine include a 62-meter length, 6.2-meter beam, and a 1,580-ton surface displacement. Many of the Gotland’s improvements will be incorporated into Sweden’s next-generation A26 submarine design, expected to begin entering service in the 2020s. A second Gotland-class submarine will be upgraded in the near future to keep the class on the cutting edge of technology through at least 2025.
The first of two planned advanced submarine-rescue systems delivered to the Indian Navy entered active service during a ceremony in Mumbai on 12 December 2018. The second unit was expected to have arrived in India in January 2019. Under a 2016 contract supporting the continuing expansion and modernization of the Indian submarine force, British firm JFD is providing two of its transportable third-generation fly-away submarine-rescue systems with deep-submergence rescue vehicles (DSRV), launch-and-recovery systems, transfer-under-pressure systems, logistics and support equipment, plus 25 years of all-encompassing maintenance. Each undersea rescue vehicle reportedly is able to transport its three crew members and up to seventeen survivors per trip from a stricken submarine. India has now joined a select group of navies able to provide the specialized skills and equipment required to search, locate, and rescue personnel from submarines in distress.