The Navy says it will begin constructing the nation's first ever Aegis-equipped destroyers as part of a three-phased naval force improvement program.

A Navy spokesman said Wednesday that Hyundai Heavy Industries Company will construct the body of the vessel while U.S military supplier Lockheed Martin will provide the Aegis combat system.

The warship is the first of three 7,000-ton KDX-III destroyers. Construction is set to start next month, with a price tag of one trillion won or some 870 million dollars.

The first warship is slated for delivery by the end of 2008 with the second and third ships set to be completed by 2010 and 2012.

South Korea would be the second country in East Asia to possess an Aegis-adapted warship after Japan, which currently has four such destroyers and aims to build two more.

The Aegis system is a surface-to-air integrated weapons system in which high-powered, phased-array radar is able to perform search, tracking and missile guidance functions for over 100 targets simultaneously.