South Korea has considered SM-3 for sea-based ballistic-missile defence and support to ground-based defences. Lockheed Martin says the ships can perform integrated air and missile defence, although it is also selling the system. Jeongjo's missile battery is not interchangeable with Sejong's despite related sensors, hull form, and propulsion. Ten years separate the 2012 commissioning of the last first-batch ship from Jeongjo's 2022 launch, leaving time for extensive redesign. The 'batch two' label is administratively convenient, but the changed weapons fit makes the ships operationally distinct in this assessment.
Notable Point · 45:23-47:19
Jeongjo's missile-defence role comes with a redesigned battery
Possible SM-3 integration supports missile defence, while the changed weapons fit and the decade between earlier-batch commissioning in 2012 and Jeongjo's launch in 2022 support treating it as a distinct design.