Samcheok: South Korea has started the construction of a land-based test site for a homegrown combat system to be fitted on a next-generation destroyer, the state arms procurement agency said Tuesday. A groundbreaking ceremony for the test site took place at an Agency for Defense Development research center in the coastal city of Samcheok, 194 kilometers east of Seoul, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). According to Yonhap News Agency, the 6,700-square-meter test site, set to go into operation in 2027, will be used to conduct trial runs and assessments of the homegrown combat system as well as training for relevant personnel, DAPA said. South Korea is currently developing a new 6,500-ton Korea Destroyer Next Generation as part of a 7.8 trillion-won (US$5.6 billion) project to acquire six destroyers with advanced homegrown combat systems by the 2030s.