Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has been awarded a contract to develop a multi-role attack helicopter for the Republic of Korea Marine Corps (RoKMC), possibly based on its MUH-1 Marineon amphibious helicopter design.
KAI said it had signed a contract with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the acquisition agency of the Ministry of Defense (MND), in a regulatory filing dated October 27. The development contract is worth 438.4 billion won ($308.65 million) and will be completed within 46 months, according to the company.
“The project involved developing a [RoKMC’s] Amphibious maneuvering helicopters and air assault units, and providing air fire support to ground combat units between deep maneuvers and final operations,” KAI said.
DAPA first announced its need for RoKMC attack helicopters on April 26, 2021, and said an initial purchase of 20 to 24 rotorcraft would cost about $1.44 billion on an interim basis. The agency also said in the plan, which is expected to begin in 2022 and complete by 2031.
Expected roles include amphibious assault operations, particularly around the northwest islands near the inter-Korean border. The helicopter must operate with Marineon helicopters already in service with RoKMC.
No further details were provided at the time, although it came after a year-long study by DAPA’s Defense Technology and Quality Agency (DTaQ) to obtain a vehicle capable of operating on a South Korean Navy (RoKN) amphibious assault ship of locally developed helicopters is more cost-effective than acquiring foreign designs.
Bidding for the project began in January 2019 with offers from five companies: Bel Textron with its AH-1Z Viper, Boeing with its AH-64E Apache Guardian, Turkish Airlines with its T-129 ATAK, Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky and its S-70i, while KAI and its Marineon KAI were the only Korean companies to bid.
It was also reported at the time that RoKMC had expressed a preference for foreign designs, with the Bell AH-1Z and maritime variants of the Boeing AH-64E seen as major contenders.
Concept images of the future RoKMC attack helicopter released by KAI show it will be armed with the equivalent of the company’s Light Armed Helicopter (LAH), with a 20mm triple-turret Chungum (Sky Sword) anti-tank missile mounted under the nose (ATGM) and a 70mm rocket pod. It is understood that the attack helicopter will also have short-range air-to-air capabilities, equipped with missiles such as the FIM-92 Stinger.
by Jr Ng
