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| KAI Received Attack Helicopter Development Contract For Marine Corps |
Seoul - Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) was awarded a USD 308 million contract from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) of Korea to manufacture three attack helicopter prototypes for the Republic of Korea Marine Corps (RoKMC). The three helicopter prototypes will be built within 46 months.
The attack helicopter to be developed is based on the Surion helicopter family, namely the MUH-1 Marineon helicopter. This helicopter will have 96% similarity with Surion.
The decision to choose KAI was determined after one year of DAPA analyzing offers from five companies, namely Bell Textron (AH-1Z Viper), Boeing (AH-64E Apache Guardian), Turkish Aerospace (T-129 Atak), Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky (S- 70i), and Korean Aerospace Industries (Surion Marine Attack Helicopter).
After that year's research, the Defense Technology and Quality Agency (DTaQ), part of DAPA, concluded that procuring a locally developed platform capable of operating from the Republic of Korea Navy's amphibious assault ships would be more cost-effective.
The Surion Marine attack helicopter is expected to be equipped with an electro-optical/infrared targeting and designation system mounted on the nose of the helicopter.
Previously, this system was developed by Hanwha Systems for a future South Korean Army light attack helicopter. Helicopter crew will receive night vision goggles.
Meanwhile, the weapons package includes a 20 mm Gatling gun with 1,400 rounds, a 2.75-inch rocket pod, two quad launchers for anti-tank guided missiles, and two dual launchers for air-to-air missiles.