South Korea intends to purchase 4 extra Phalanx close-in weapons techniques (CIWS) so as to add to the 2 it requested from the US in late 2020 to equip a second batch of three Sejong Daewang (KDX III) class guided-missile destroyers for the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN). In a 21 January notification to Congress, the U.S. State Division has made a willpower approving a attainable Overseas Army Sale to the Republic of Korea of two (2) MK 15 MOD 25 Phalanx Shut-In Weapons System (CIWS) Block 1B Baseline 2 (IB2) techniques and associated gear for an estimated price of $39 million. Together with the 2020 request to amass two of those techniques – together with 4,000 20mm armour-piercing incendiary rounds and 20MM cartridge API linked.
A keel-laying ceremony for the primary of three KDX III Batch-II destroyers also referred to as The Sejong the Nice-class destroyers (Sejongdaewang-Geup Guchukam) was held in October 2021 at Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in Ulsan. This primary vessel is about to be launched later this yr and enter service by 2024. Every of the 8,100t Batch II destroyers is predicted to be armed with two Phalanx CIWS. Sejong the Nice-class destroyers’ foremost Level-defense armaments embody one 30 mm Goalkeeper CIWS and a RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile Block 1 21-round launcher, the primary Aegis platform to hold RAM.
Commercial
The Phalanx CIWS (pronounced “sea-wiz”) is a close-in weapon system for protection towards incoming threats equivalent to small boats, floor torpedoes, anti-ship missiles and helicopters. It was designed and manufactured by the Common Dynamics Company, Pomona Division, later part of Raytheon. Consisting of a radar-guided 20 mm (0.8 in) Vulcan cannon mounted on a swiveling base, the Phalanx has been utilized by the USA Navy and the naval forces of 15 different international locations. The U.S. Navy additionally fields the SeaRAM system, which pairs the RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile with sensors primarily based on the Phalanx.
The Phalanx system has been developed by a number of configurations. The fundamental (authentic) fashion is the Block 0, geared up with first-generation, solid-state electronics and with marginal functionality towards floor targets. The Block 1 (1988) improve provided numerous enhancements in radar, ammunition, computing energy, price of fireplace, and a rise in most engagement elevation to +70 levels. Block 1A launched a brand new pc system to counter extra maneuverable targets. The Block 1B PSuM (Phalanx Floor Mode, 1999) provides a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor to make the weapon efficient towards floor targets.
