On 25 May 2007 South Korea launched the first of its new KDX-III guided-missile destroyers. The 7,000+-ton warship, numbered 991 and reportedly named Sejong-Daewang (Sejong the Great) after a 14th-century Korean king, is the first South Korean warship equipped with the Lockheed Martin Aegis SPY-1D combat system. Built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, Sejong-Daewang can carry two antisubmarine helicopters and will be armed with SM-2 Standard and RIM-116 Rolling Airframe surface-to-air missiles in addition to a formidable load-out of 16 antiship missiles and a single 127-mm MK 45 gun, along with a 30-mm Goalkeeper close-in-weapon system. Plans also indicate that the KDX-III class may eventually be fitted with a land-attack cruise missile capability. Expected in service by the end of 2008, two additional sister ships, numbered 992 and 993, are expected in service during 2010 and 2012 respectively.
