Pyŏng'an-class destroyer
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 3-view diagram of Pyŏng'an in 2002, after being refitted with YDG-61 launchers.
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: | Menghe |
| Preceded by: | Hyŏngnam-class destroyer |
| Succeeded by: | Haeju-class destroyer |
| Built: | 1996-2003 |
| In commission: | 1999-present |
| Planned: | 5 |
| Completed: | 4 |
| Cancelled: | 1 |
| Active: | 4 |
| General characteristics (Pyŏng'an, 2002) | |
| Type: | Guided missile destroyer |
| Displacement: | 8,000 tons full load |
| Length: |
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| Beam: |
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| Draught: | 6.10 m to keel, full load |
| Propulsion: | |
| Speed: | 32 knots |
| Range: | 5,100 nautical miles (9,450 km) at 18 knots |
| Complement: |
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| Sensors and processing systems: |
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| Electronic warfare & decoys: |
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| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 2 × GH-28 Ppulsoeori |
| Aviation facilities: | hangar, landing pad |
The Pyŏng'an-class destroyers are a group of four guided missile destroyers built for the Menghean Navy. They were commissioned with the Letnian S-300FM long-range surface-to-air missile system, built under license as the YDG-39, giving them a much longer surface-to-air engagement range than any previous Menghean destroyer class. This made them the first Menghean warship class to use a vertical launching system, albeit in an inefficient revolver-type cold launch configuration. In addition to their anti-aircraft capabilities, these ships also carried a modern sonar suite of Hallian origin, putting them on par with the Chanjok Jachido-class cruisers in all areas except their helicopter complement. On this basis, the Menghean Navy classified them as Main Force Escort Ships, and planned to use them to defend high-value targets like the aircraft carrier Haebang and the two Unmunsan-class cruisers.
While construction on the last two Pyŏng'ans was still underway, Menghe obtained a license to purchase and produce a range of naval weapon and sensor systems of Dayashinese and Banbhan origin, including the Mark 41 VLS. This development, which led to the design and construction of the Haeju class, rendered the Pyŏng'ans obsolete, and only four ships in the class were built overall. Despite these drawbacks, the Menghean Navy still regarded them as adequate escort ships, typically assigning them to carrier battle groups.
Beginning in the late 2010s, the Menghean Navy thoroughly refitted each of the four Pyŏng'ans to update them with more modern weapons, sensors, and countermeasures. In this updated configuration, they are closer in capability to a Haeju-class destroyer, with the same Mark 41 VLS armament and a similarly advanced radar suite. The Menghean Ministry of National Defense projects that the refitted Pyŏng'ans will be viable until 2040, when they will begin to be retired.
Development
Area Air Defense Ship program
During the 1980s and 1990s, Menghe's main air defense ship was the Yobu-class destroyer (along with its Hyŏngnam subclass). These ships were armed with the YDG-32 surface-to-air missile, a licensed derivative of the S-125 Neva/Pechora. In its upgraded 1990s model, this missile had a range of 40 kilometers, relatively short compared with more modern systems elsewhere. These ships also carried their YDG-32s on twin-arm mounts, limiting their rate of fire, and had only 16 missiles per magazine for a total of 32. Given that many Menghean warship classes carried either no radar-guided SAMs (Nunbora, Mugunghwa, Ginam) or relatively ineffective ones (Chŏndong), this was seen as a serious deficiency.
In response, the Menghean Navy launched a design competition for an Area Air Defense Ship specialized in protecting surface ships against aerial attack. Anti-submarine capabilities were added to the requirements list as well. The new ships would be given the hull type juryŏk howiham (주력 호위함 / 主力護衛艦), or "main force escort ship," to contrast them with the Yobu and Hyŏngnam-class escort ships (howiham) and the Ansa-class outer escorts (oechung howiham). These main force escort ships would accompany the aircraft carrier Haebang and escort surface action groups composed of anti-shipping destroyers or anti-submarine warships.
Competition with Plan 351
Initially, the Navy responded with a modified version of the Chanjok Jachido-class cruisers, modified with S-300FM launch cylinders in place of the helicopter hangar. The radar masts were also replaced with solid pyramid structures containing boiler exhaust pipes and electronics, and a smaller hangar structure for two helicopters was added aft, though the powerplant and the forward one-third remained unchanged. The command deck was retained, allowing these ships to operate as command centers for a formation of surface ships. Previously, the Yobu-class destroyers had been used as destroyer squadron leaders, but their makeshift command facilities were not adequate for coordinating large groups of ships. This design was designated Plan 351, and given the name Yerihan ("Keen"), though this was only a codename for the project rather than a prospective ship name, as sometimes erroneously reported.
The Yerihan design initially received a favorable evaluation from the Navy's general staff, and Choe Sŭng-min personally endorsed the design. A model was unveiled at a domestic defense exposition in 1994, and Dayashinese satellite intelligence mistakenly reported that the first ship in the class was laid down the following year (in fact, it was the Kungnaejok Jachido, third ship in the Chanjok Jachido class). Further evaluation, however, began to tip the balance against the Plan 351 design. The added superstructure aft and heavier pyramid masts added considerably to the ship's weight and shifted the center of gravity, requiring new structural bracing. This eliminated many of the expected benefits of using an existing hull. The Navy also projected that the operating costs of these ships would be relatively high, due to their large crewing requirements and inefficient steam turbine machinery.
As debate on the viability of the Plan 351 continued, the Navy commissioned a separate design team to draw up a more compact, less expensive alternative. This prototype, designated Plan 331, became the basis for the Pyŏng'an class. To reduce space, the 8-tube S-300 launch cells were replaced by 6-tube cells with outward-angled launch points, and the total number of missiles was reduced. The intermediate-range SAM battery was also removed, in favor of the short-range YDG-61, still in early development. The overall layout was more conventional, resembling foreign destroyers such as the Yakaze class.
Another breakthrough in the Plan 331 design came in 1995, when representatives of the Hallian Navy offered to covertly transfer LM2500 gas turbine engines to Menghe under the guise of a private ship-scrapping contract. Menghean engineers used these to achieve further reductions in powerplant mass, making the design more compact while retaining an adequate top speed. The blueprint modified to use LM2500 turbines was designated Plan 333.
Unpon further evaluation, the Menghean Navy projected that it would be able to build and operate five Plan 333 ships for the same cost as three Plan 351 ships. Given the stagnation in the military budget, which was barely keeping pace with inflation during the mid-1990s, the original procurement plan of five Plan 351 ships was deemed infeasible. With five Plan 333 hulls, however, the Navy could disperse its anti-air area coverage more widely, especially as either projection assumed that 20% of ships (1 in 3 or 1 in 5) would be out of service for maintenance at any given time. The balance of opinion gradually shifted in favor of the smaller Plan 333, and in 1996 the Navy's annual budget plan allocated funds for the construction of five hulls over the following six years. The larger Yerihan design was abandoned, like several other Menghean cruisers before it.
Construction
The first ship in the new class was laid down on 27 August 1996, at the Number 1 drydock of the Gyŏngsan Songsu-do Naval Yard. The same drydock had just launched the cruiser Kungnaejok Jachido for her fitting-out.
Because Dayashina still objected to any licensing deal which would transfer Dayashinese military technology to Menghe, the Menghean Navy was unable to secure gas turbine engines through legal means. Hallian military officials, however, believed that they could strengthen their position against the Entente Cordiale by helping the Menghean Navy modernize its fleet. As part of a secret agreement between the two countries, the Hallian Navy transferred two partially scrapped destroyer hulls to a state-owned Menghean shipbuilder for breaking up. Both ships had already been stripped of their radar and sonar equipment, but their powerplants remained intact, yielding a total of eight used but operable LM2500 turbines. These were transferred to the Navy for installation in the first four destroyer hulls, at a rate of two each.
The first ship was launched on 3 January 1998 and commissioned on 13 September 1999 as Pyŏng'an. She was assigned to the carrier battle group of the Haebang. The next three ships were laid down and completed on schedule. While the fourth hull was halfway complete, however, Dayashina relented on its sensitive technology policy over the resolution of the Renkaku Islands dispute, and Menghe signed an agreement with Banbha to produce the Mark 41 Vertical Launching System and the SM-2 missile. This new system was far more flexible and efficient than the rotary launchers for the YDG-39, and by extension rendered the Pyŏng'an class obsolete for new construction. The Navy decided to complete the third and fourth hulls as they were originally designed, because construction work was already too far along to rebuild them. The fifth hull, however, was cancelled in favor of a modified design built around the new vertical launch system. This, in turn, became the Haeju class.
Description (as built)
Sensors and electronics
The Pyŏng'an-class destroyers were built with two main air-search radars. The first is a HR-290 (licensed Podberezovik-ET2) C-band array mounted on the lower aft radar tower. This system has an instrumented range of 500 kilometers, and can detect a fighter-sized target at a range of 240 kilometers. It has built-in target tracking and IFF capabilities, and uses frequency-hopping to reduce its vulnerability to jamming.
Further forward, on the main radar tower, is an HR-270 (licensed Fregat-M2EM) E-band radar array. This has an instrumented range of 300 kilometers, and can detect a fighter-sized target at a range of 220 kilometers. It also has a built-in IFF antenna.
The sonar suite is identical to that on the Chanjok Jachido-class cruisers, with an AN/SQS-53B hull-mounted sonar and AN/SQR-19 towed array sonar. This brought much-needed anti-submarine capability to Menghe's carrier battle group, which until 1999 relied mainly on early-series Ansa-class frigates for anti-submarine escort. An anti-diver sonar also provided some protection from frogmen and small undersea vehicles while in port.
Surface-to-air armament
The most important armament on the Pyŏng'an-class ships was their powerful battery of YDG-39 surface-to-air missiles - Menghe's licensed copy of the Letnian S-300FM. With a maximum engagement range of 150 kilometers and a maximum engagement ceiling of 27 kilometers, these missiles brought a dramatic increase in capability compared with the YDG-32 and YDG-37 on other Menghean warships, allowing the Pyŏng'ans to provide true wide-area air defense to dispersed formations of friendly ships.
These missiles were arranged in "revolver" carousels of six missiles. As on the eight-cell S-300 launcher, one position in the ring had a cold launch pressure valve at the base, and the carousel would rotate to bring loaded cylinders over this launch point one by one. In addition to reducing the number of tubes per launcher to 6, the Menghean system also angled each tube outward from the pivot point by 5 degrees, and angled the pivot point outward by 5 degrees from the centerline. This had two major effects. First, the footprint of the launch system became much narrower at the base, allowing it to be installed further forward in the hull. Second, because the missiles launched from the 10-degree positions furthest to port and starboard, if a missile's second stage failed, it would continue on its ballistic arc into the sea rather than falling directly down onto the deck. The Pyŏng'ans were built with nine revolver arrays - six forward, and three astern - for a total of 54 missiles.
Two 30N6E radar antennas provided guidance for the YDG-39 missiles: one just forward of the helicopter hangars, and one mounted on top of the bridge. Each antenna can simultaneously guide 12 missiles toward 6 targets, but only over a single 60-degree sector.
The YDG-39 has a minimum practical engagement range of 5 kilometers, due to the delay in arming and redirecting the missile after its vertical launch. To cover this minimum engagement bubble, the Pyŏng'an-class ships were designed to carry short-range surface-to-air missile launchers on the forward and aft ends of the superstructure. Designated HYB-61/16 Bŏdŭl, these mounts each consist of 16 ready YDG-61 missiles on either side of a target acquisition array with electro-optical sights and a ranging radar. Because of delays in development, the YDG-61 was not operational until 2001; Pyŏng'an and Baekjin were both commissioned in an incomplete status, with empty pedestals where the short-range SAM launchers were expected to be. Foreign media sources at first erroneously reported that these empty mounts were intended for YDG-36 box launchers, but the Menghean Navy already considered the YDG-36 obsolete and did not even consider it in the design process.
Other armament
Further close range defense consisted of four GBM-30/6 CIWS mounts amidships, with each pair directed by a single MR-123 fire-control radar. These are "N-variant" GBM-30/6s, with an electro-optical sight mounted on the fire-control radar replacing the manually pointed backup director. Because the mounts are raised up one deck and offset far to each side of the ship, they have relatively good firing arcs: the system can fire directly forward parallel to the centerline, and 10 degrees off the centerline aft, leaving only a 20-degree blind spot in CIWS coverage aft. At angles of under 20 degrees off centerline forward, however, the aft GBM-30/6 mount's firing is automatically interrupted, to prevent damage to the illumination radar and the other mount.
Like previous Menghean warships, the Pyŏng'an class carried two types of anti-submarine armament as originally built, in addition to the helicopter facilities. Just aft of the bridge, and one deck below the anti-ship missile boxes, each ship carried four 533mm torpedo tubes per side. The chief difference with other postwar ships was the tubes' arrangement: they were fixed in place at a roughly 60-degree angle from directly ahead, and staggered so that all opened directly through hinged ports in the hull. The internal angling appears to have been chosen mainly in order to leave space between the opposing ends of the tubes inside the ship, allowing personnel to move back and forth on that deck. No torpedo reloads were carried, though wheeled cranes on the deck above were meant to assist with reloading in port. Each tube could carry either a wire-guided homing torpedo or an HŎ-2 Poksŏl anti-submarine standoff rocket.
For close-range anti-submarine defense, the ships carried two HBDJ-21/12 rocket-propelled depth charge projectors, forward of the bridge and flanking the forward HYB-61/16 mount. These were typically loaded with a mix of sonar decoy rounds and torpedo hardkill rounds, and used for torpedo defense rather than anti-submarine warfare.
Gun armament is unusually light for an 8,000-ton warship, consisting of a single 76mm HP-76/1 gun turret forward. This can engage aircraft and missiles as well as surface targets. The small caliber reflects the Pyŏng'an-class's intended role as an area air defense platform; in a typical late-90s or early-00s surface formation, Nunbora-class destroyers or Chŏndong-class destroyers would provide anti-surface escort and conduct shore bombardment operations, so a 130mm gun was deemed unnecessary.
Other anti-surface defense consisted of two quadruple launch boxes for YDH-24 anti-ship missiles. This is the same defensive AShM armament mounted on the Ansa-class frigates and Chanjok Jachido-class cruisers, and as on these ships, it was primarily meant as a backup defense against enemy ships nearing the formation or poorly defended targets of opportunity.
When commissioned in 2002, HJ-363 Jinjŏng was fitted with two HB-6/7 rocket launchers, one on the bow offset to starboard and one on the port rear corner of the helicopter hangar. These weapons each fired seven 60mm rocket-propelled depth grenades, and could be remotely aimed from the bridge or combat information center. They were intended for defense against frogmen, small undersea vehicles, and other close-in threats in poorly secured ports. The forward, offset HB-6/7 was fitted to Jinjŏng's three sisters during minor maintenance periods, but the aft launcher was not fitted to any of these ships, and it was removed from Jinjŏng in 2010, on the reasoning that it obstructed the firing arc of the aft YDG-61 launcher.
Propulsion
The Pyŏng'an-class destroyers use a mixed foreign-and-domestic CODAG powerplant, as opposed to the steam turbine powerplants common on earlier Menghean destroyers and cruisers. The "cruise" diesel engines are domestic Samsan S9000H units, the same type used in the Sŏwicho-class corvettes, and each generate 8,000 shaft horsepower (5,970 kW). The gas turbines are used LM2500 units from Hallia, and each generate 33,600 shp (25,100 kW), for a total output of 83,200 horsepower (58,140 kW) at top speed with the diesel and turbine engines running in tandem. Top speed is reportedly 32 knots.
The Pyŏng'an-class destroyers were the first Menghean warships to install the gas turbines un a way that permitted the turbine components to be lifted out through their intake channels. The hatches for turbine removal are visible on top of the angled intake structure forward of the main funnel.
Because the original gas turbines were first-generation LM2500 models with decades of existing use salvaged from a scrap hull, they suffered from poor reliability and efficiency in Menghean service. This contributed to a low readiness rate for Pyŏng'an during her first few years, especially as spare parts and replacement engines could not be legally imported. These concerns contributed to the use of a CODAG powerplant, rather than a full COGAG configuration, on the next set of frigate classes.
After Menghe obtained a license to produce the LM2500 in 2001, the existing spare turbines reserved for Jinjŏng were cannibalized for spare parts to support the other two ships, and the Navy ordered brand-new turbines for installation in her hull. Pyŏng'an, Baekjin, and Gwangbo were all refitted with brand new turbines during regular maintenance.
Aircraft facilities
The Pyŏng'an-class destroyers have two aft hangars, each capable of housing a single GH-28 Ppulsoeori helicopter. Baekjin was seen conducting military exercises with one GH-28R anti-submarine helicopter and one GH-28B airborne early warning helicopter, with the latter augmenting the ship's anti-air defensive role. The single landing pad includes a hauldown system with rails leading into each hangar, allowing landing operations in rough seas.
Unlike the hangar structure on the Chanjok Jachido-class cruisers, which groups all helicopters into a single space, the Pyŏng'an-class ships have two hangar spaces on opposite sides of the ship. Most of the space in between is taken up by three cold-launch revolvers for YDG-39 surface-to-air missiles. A bulkhead separates these from the hangars to prevent an accidental fire or blast in one space from spreading to the other.
Mid-life refits
| This article is incomplete because it is pending further input from participants, or it is a work-in-progress by one author. Please comment on this article's talk page to share your input, comments and questions. Note: To contribute to this article, you may need to seek help from the author(s) of this page. |
During their mid-life refits in the 2010s, all four Pyŏng'an-class destroyers underwent extensive changes, with the goal of keeping them in service for another twenty years.
Armament
The most notable change was the removal of the obsolete YDG-39 revolver cells from the hull. These were replaced with Mark 41 VLS cells. Although the new missile battery took up less volume, it maintained roughly the same mass, keeping weight distribution even. It also increased the number of missiles which could be carried, and allowed for the launching of a wider variety of missile types, turning the Pyŏng'ans into more flexible multirole combatants.
Service
Polvokian Civil War
Shortly after finishing sea trials, HJ-360 Pyŏng'an deployed to the south coast of Polvokia to support the aircraft carrier Haebang, which was patrolling south of Ryŏngdo to protect the city from air attack. By this point, however, the war was nearly over; barely a month after Pyŏng'an arrived at her station, the last major Tukchin militia unit in the north surrendered. As such, Pyŏng'an saw no action during this period, though she did gain experience operating alongside a carrier running combat flights.
Ummayan Civil War
Three Pyŏng'an-class destroyers participated in the Menghean fleet detachment sent to the Ummayan Civil War: HJ-360 Pyŏng'an and HJ-362 Gwangbo, part of MH-10 Haebang's battle group, and HJ-363 Jinjŏng, which was part of the escort force for the super-heavy cruiser S-01 Unmunsan.
Innominadan Crisis
During the Innominadan Crisis, HJ-363 Jinjŏng formed part of the battle group for MHW-12 Sibiwŏl Hyŏgmyŏng, the first Sibiwŏl Hyŏgmyŏng class aircraft carrier. Due to the threat from pirates and other light craft, she was refitted with three 12.7mm GCh-75 heavy machine guns on pintle mounts: one on each rear corner of the helicopter hangar, and one on the bow.
Ships in the class
Because they are "main-force escort ships" (juryŏk howiham) rather than simple "escort ships" (howiham) of the Yobu and Hyŏngnam classes, the Pyŏng'ans are named after municipalities rather than prefectures. Previously, only battleships had been named after Menghean municipalities; though as an "upgraded" type of prefecture, municipality names appropriately complemented the use of prefecture names for frigates (wichung howiham, "outer escort ships"). Subsequent Menghean destroyer classes were also named for municipalities.
Notably, the third ship's name is rendered as Gwangbo (광보) rather than Quảng Phả, the Lakkien reading of the city's name. Because this city is located in the Lac Semi-Autonomous Province, its native name is used on foreign maps and in local administration, but the Menghean reading of its name is used in central government documents where the Menghean language holds sole official status. As a central government institution, the Menghean Navy uses the Menghean-language version, which aids in communication: Quảng Phả is phonetically and typographically impossible in the Sinmun alphabet. In this case, Gwangbo is the Menghean pronunciation of the Gomun characters which comprise Quảng Phả (廣普).
| Name | Mengja | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pyŏng'an | 平安 | Gyŏngsan | 1996 Aug 27 | 1998 Jan 03 | 1999 Sep 13 | In service |
| Baekjin | 白津 | Gyŏngsan | 1998 Jan 09 | 1999 May 14 | 2000 Dec 18 | In service |
| Gwangbo | 廣普 | Gyŏngsan | 1999 May 21 | 2000 Nov 22 | 2002 Jun 06 | In service |
| Jinjŏng | 辰靜 | Gyŏngsan | 2000 Nov 29 | 2002 May 16 | 2003 Sep 06 | In service |
See also
- Plan 351 "Yerihan," a competing design for Menghe's next-generation air defense ship
- Yakaze-class destroyer