The domestically produced submarine Ahn Mu was unveiled on Nov. 10 in a launching ceremony at the Okpo shipyard of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering on Geoje, Gyeongsangnam-do Province.

By Lee Hana

Photos = Republic of Korea Navy's Facebook page

The domestically produced 3,000-ton mid-class submarine Ahn Mu on Nov. 10 was unveiled at a launching ceremony four years after its construction began.

Minister of National Defense Suh Wook attended the event at the Okpo shipyard of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering in Geoje, Gyeongsangnam-do Province.

Built with domestic technology, the vessel is 83.3 m long and 9.6 m wide with a top speed of 20 knots (37 kph), and can hold around 50 crew.

The Ahn Mu is in the same 3,000-ton Jangbogo-III class as the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, the Republic of Korea Navy's first domestically produced submarine launched in September 2018. 

The latest vessel is around twice the size of a Jangbogo-II submarine and can remain underwater for up to two weeks. Its built-in technologies include naval combat and sonar navigation systems, with around 76% of the parts produced at home. 

The submarine is named after Gen. Ahn Mu (1883-1924), a Korean independence fighter who led his soldiers to victory in the historic 1920 battles in Bongo-dong and Cheongsan-ri in northeastern China. 

Minister of National Defense Suh Wook on Nov. 10 gives a speech at the launching ceremony for the Navy's second 3,000-ton submarine Ahn Mu.

"In the not-so-distant future, the Navy will be reborn as an advanced transoceanic force with next-generation Korean-style destroyers and 4,000-ton submarines, along with light aircraft carriers as its core force," the minister said.

After completing a series of evaluations, the Ahn Mu will be delivered to the Navy in 2022 and later deployed after completing the electrification process.

hlee10@korea.kr