Electronic Weapons: South Korea Buys The Best

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July 18, 2014: South Korea is buying a new electronic defense system (Pegaso) from a Spanish company (Indra) for two of its new KSS-2 submarines. Pegaso uses more powerful computers and software to detect and identify radar signals and give a surfaced submarine warning about possibly hostile radars aimed at it, even before the sub is close enough for the radar to detect anything. This enables the sub to submerge to avoid detection or being accurately fired on (if a targeting radar is detected).

South Korea already has six KSS-2 subs and is building six more of these Type 214 subs. These boats use fuel cells, enabling them to stay underwater for up to two weeks at a time. The Type 214 is a 1,700 ton, 65 meter (202 foot) long boat, with a crew of 27. It has four torpedo tubes and a top submerged speed of 35 kilometers an hour. Maximum diving depth is over 400 meters (1,220 feet).