(Photo courtesy DSME via Naval Technology)
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On August 4, 2022, Anonymous kindly provided the following links and comment:
Seoul kicks off efforts to sell submarines to Australia [1]. This includes possible key technologies as Hyunmoo 4-4 SLBMs [2], methanol reforming fuel cell AIP [3], and LIBs by South Korean company Samsung [4]. Unfortunately the reliability of these technologies has not yet been proven through practical applications.
[1] https://www.kedglobal.com/aerospace-defense/newsView/ked202208030024
South Korea has embarked on efforts to export domestically designed [Dosan Ahn Changho-class KSS-III] submarines weighing more than 3,000 tons to Australia, while also in the final stage of bidding for a $4.6 billion project to sell Redback armoured vehicles to [Australia], according to South Korea’s defense procurement agency on [August 3, 2022].
[In July 2022], the Minister of South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration Eom Donghwan visited Australia and met with officials of the Defense Science and Technology Group (DSTG) and the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG), part of Australia’s Defense Department….”
[2] https://asiapacificdefencereporter.com/south-korea-expands-maritime-ambitions/
The locally developed 3,000-ton class submarine is equipped with six vertical launch tubes. After a round of additional tests, the SLBM will be mass produced for deployment. The SLBM is believed to be a variant of the country’s Hyunmoo-2B ballistic missile, with a flight range of around 500 kilometres, and will be fitted with conventional warheads, according to the sources. The missile has reportedly been codenamed, Hyunmoo4-4.
[3]https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/02/south-koreas-add-develops-critical-technology-for-submarine-aip/
According to South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development (ADD), the use of “methanol-reforming plant [AIP] technology”, which transforms methanol into hydrogen by altering its chemical structure, negates the need for separate charging facilities and decreases charging times significantly, in addition to allowing the submarine to operate submerged for longer.
[4]https://www.ajudaily.com/view/20181107111119548
SEOUL -- South Korea has finally achieved a technical breakthrough in developing a workable lithium-ion battery [LIB] for a new generation of home-made submarines. The project, which began in July 2016, involved five research bodies and six companies including Samsung SDI, a top battery maker.
The [South Korean] Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), a state body controlled by the defense ministry, said Wednesday that lithium-ion batteries have passed its technical readiness assessment for 3,000-ton submarines under construction.
Pete Comment
If Australia opted for "Interim" conventional subs before, or instead of, AUKUS nuclear subs, then Japan, South Korea, Germany, France and Sweden might have claims to having built the best large, operational, conventional subs internationally.