Combat Fleets

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.

India's plans for a three-carrier Navy by 2017 are on track, according to naval and defense officials, despite recent media reports to the contrary. Currently, India operates the nearly 50-year-old Viraat (ex-Hermes), a retired British carrier that flies Sea Harrier fighters and Sea King helicopters. Viraat is expected to retire between 2010 and 2012 and be replaced by the refurbished Vikramadityam, a retired Russian aircraft carrier originally named Baku, but subsequently renamed Admiral Gorshkov. The carrier is pictured here while still in Soviet service. Once rebuilt, Vikramadityam is expected to enter Indian service in 2008. The extensively modified ship will operate MiG-29 fighters and helicopters. A number of Russian errors in refitting the carrier have reportedly caused some minor delays, but Indian officials do not expect this to alter the overall course of the project. By far the most ambitious portion of the three-carrier plan is India's Vikrant-class Air Defense Ship program. The Vikrant design calls for an immense 40,000-ton aircraft carrier, now under construction at Cochin Shipyard, and expected in service by 2012. A sister ship to Vikrant, as yet unnamed, is planned for service in 2017.

Avery successful antisubmarine training program involving the Swedish submarine Götland and the U.S. Navy comes to a conclusion early this summer. By the end of June, the Swedish submarine was expected to be placed on board a heavy-lift ship for transfer back to home waters. Operating under an agreement dating to October 2004, the 1,400-ton submarine and her crew arrived in San Diego, California, in June 2005 to conduct training exercises with U.S. ships and sub-hunting forces. Because the Götland is fitted with an advanced air-independent propulsion system, the boat is able to remain submerged for extended periods, offering a rare opportunity for U.S. antisubmarine forces to train against an increasingly common undersea threat. During the two-year lease agreement, the Götland played an active role, racking up some 250 days of operational training service, while training with U.S. and allied anti-submarine forces.

Mr. Wertheim, a defense consultant in the Washington, D.C., area, is the author of The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, 15th edition, currently available from the Naval Institute Press at www.usni.org.