South Korea has opted for Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH's (HDW) U214 diesel powered submarine for its next tranche of three boats to be delivered before the end of 2009. A Defence Ministry spokesman said the German design was superior to the Scorpene design submitted by France's DCNI shipbuilder. "Our evaluation showed that the German model excelled its French rival in terms of price and logistics support,'' he said.

HDW has already been involved in South Korea's submarine building programme. Daewwoo Heavy Industries is constructing nine of the German firm's U209 design under license. The Type 214 will have an increased diving depth of over 400 metres, because of improvements in the pressure hull materials. Performance of the AIP system has been increased with two Siemens PEM fuel cells which produce 120 kW per module and will give the submarine an underwater endurance of two weeks. The hull shape has been optimised for hydrodynamic and stealth characteristics and a low noise propeller developed that combine to decrease the submarine's acoustic signature.