Thales Satcom Technology to Equip South Korean Submarines

Thales will equip South Korean Navy submarines with its X-band satcom terminals as part of the navy’s KSS II batch 2 submarine programme.

South Korea has ordered a total of six Type 214 submarines of the conventional air independent propulsion (AIP)-equipped diesel-electric submarine family from the German submarine shipbuilder Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW).

HDW has selected the Thales communication solution to equip the next two submarines, which are scheduled to enter South Korean naval service by 2018.

The Satcom terminal delivers high tracking performance, high-level integrated communications, and enhanced voice and data transmission capabilities.

Features of the new Sohn Wonyil-class submarines include greater endurance capacity and more stealthy abilities allowing the vessel to enhance its blue-water capabilities, according to defpro.com.