History
South Korea
Name	Gwangju (광주)
Namesake	Gwangju
Builder	STX
Launched	11 August 2015
Commissioned	9 November 2016
Identification	Pennant number: FFG-817
Status	Active
General characteristics
Class and type	Incheon-class frigate
Displacement	2,300 tonnes (2,264 long tons) light 3,251 tonnes (3,200 long tons) full load
Length	114 m (374 ft)
Beam	14 m (46 ft)
Draft	4 m (13 ft)
Propulsion	CODOG 2 × MTU 12V 1163 TB83 diesel engine 2 × GE LM2500 gas turbine[1]
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) (max) 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) (cruising)
Range	4,500 nautical miles (8,000 km)
Complement	140
Sensors and processing systems	SPS-550K air search 3D radar SPG-540K fire control radar SQS-240K hull-mounted sonar SAQ-540K EOTS Naval Shield Integrated Combat Management System
Electronic warfare & decoys	LIG Nex1 SLQ-200(V)K Sonata electronic warfare suite SLQ-261K torpedo acoustic counter measures KDAGAIE Mk 2 decoy launchers
Armament	1 × 5 inch (127 mm)/L62 caliber Mk 45 Mod 4 naval gun 1 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS 2 × triple torpedo tubes for K745 Blue Shark torpedo 1 × RAM Block 1 CIWS 8 × SSM-700K Haeseong Anti-ship Missile in quad configuration 8 × Haeryong Tactical Land Attack Missile in quad configuration
Aircraft carried	Super Lynx or AW159 helicopter
Aviation facilities	Flight deck and enclosed hangar for one medium-lift helicopter

ROKS Gwangju (FFG-817) is the sixth ship of the Incheon-class frigate in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the city, Gwangju.

Development

In the early 1990s, the Korean government plan for the construction of next generation coastal ships named Frigate 2000 was scrapped due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis. But the decommissioning of the Gearing-class destroyers and the aging fleet of Ulsan-class frigates, the plan was revived as the Future Frigate eXperimental, also known as FFX in the early 2000s.

The Republic of Korea Navy initially wanted twenty-four 3000 ton frigates to replace the Ulsan, Pohang and Donghae-class coastal fleet of 37 ships. It was later decided that six 2700 ton ships will be constructed for the first batch. In 2008, the plan was further downgraded to 2300 tons when president Lee Myung-bak took office, with the number of ships for the first batch down to six. 8 ships are planned for the second batch of FFX with the final goal of 20-22 frigates.^[2]

Construction and career

ROKS Gwangju was launched on 11 August 2015 by STX Offshore & Shipbuilding and commissioned on 9 November 2016.^[3]

References