The Navy of the Republic of Korea is procuring Rheinmetall’s MASS, the Düsseldorf-based company’s state-of-the-art decoy system for frigates, corvettes, minesweepers and patrol boats, for installation on its new Landing Ship, Tank vessels (LST-II).

The South Korean Defence Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA) contracted with Samsung-Thales Co. Ltd. of Seoul to equip the ships. The basis for this is a license agreement between Rheinmetall and Samsung-Thales.

As a pilot project, 4 LST-II-class ships will be equipped with 2 MASS launchers each. This trainable decoy system is poised to become standard equipment throughout the ROK Navy.

Since the product’s launch in 2002, Rheinmetall has booked orders for MASS from the navies of 11 nations - a total of 186 launchers for 22 different classes of vessels.

Guided missiles and other projectiles pose a constant threat to civilian shipping and naval vessels alike. MASS protects ships from attacks using advanced, sensor-guided missiles on the high seas and coastal waters as well as from asymmetric, terrorist-type threats. MASS fires decoy rounds which lure incoming missiles away from their intended target.

Fully automatic, the MASS naval countermeasure system offers significant tactical, operational and logistical advantages and can be installed on board any vessel. Moreover, it can be integrated into any command and control system or operated in standalone mode. The MASS system’s innovative, programmable omnispectral rounds assure protection in all relevant wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum (radar, infrared, laser, EO, UV). The system has proven highly effective in various international trials, and is ideally suited to navies with global responsibilities.