South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on February 18 that a Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) for the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA) has successfully completed cold-weather testing in Canada.
DAPA noted that the trials were conducted by personnel from DAPA, KAI and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) in Yellowknife, Canada’s Northwest Territories, for nine weeks from December 2021 to February 2022.
The test helicopter, number 002 prototype, made 40 flights and tested 165 items including engine cold immersion. These are designed to ensure that the helicopter can operate in cold weather conditions without loss of maneuverability and performance.
The LAH design is based on the twin-engine Airbus Helicopters H155 helicopter, powered by two Arriel 2L2 turboshaft engines jointly developed by Safran Helicopter Engines and Hanwha Group.
Designed for armed reconnaissance operations, the helicopter is equipped with a chin-mounted 20mm revolving gun under its nose and is armed with locally developed anti-tank missiles (ATGMs) and 70mm rockets. It also features an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor, active self-protection system, and upward exhaust to reduce its infrared signature.
Development of the LAH and Light Civil Helicopter (LCH) began in June 2015 as part of a comprehensive civil and military helicopter development project involving DAPA, KAI and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE).
The first LAH prototype was unveiled in December 2018 and flew for the first time in July 2019, and DAPA announced provisional operational capability in December 2020.
The agency expects LAH to be fully developed by the end of 2022 after further testing and validation. From 2023, RoKA is expected to procure about 210 LAHs to replace its legacy fleet of aging Bell Helicopter AH-1F and 500MD/Tow Defender attack helicopters.
Further LAH developments include Manned Unmanned Formation (MUM-T) trials with the LAH and a tank-launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).
by Jr Ng
