Hanoi (VNA) – The Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME)Company of the Republic of Korea (RoK) announced that the DW-3000F frigateordered by the Royal Thai Navy had passed all tests and would be delivered tothe Southeast Asian nation in August.
According to the DSME announcement, this is the first warship of its kind thecompany has built for the Royal Thai Navy under a contract worth 416 millionUSD.
The 3,700-tonne frigate, with 123m in length and 14.4m in width, is the largestship the RoK has exported to a foreign country. Once joining the Royal ThaiNavy’s fleet in January 2019, it will become the largest and strongest warshipin Southeast Asia, surpassing the Formidable of Singapore.
Under the agreement between the two countries, the Korean side will transfertechnology to Thailand to build the second DW-300F frigate domestically.
Military experts said with the purchase of the DW-3000F building technology andthree Chinese submarines, and the kickstart of a self-made mini submarine manufacturingproject, the Royal Thai Navy seems to set an ambitious target of regaining its position asthe leading navy in the region.-VNA