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wing development and production. The plan is
to form a working-level consultation group and
review committee in the future to materialize
the project.

KAI President Kang Gu-young said, “We are
pleased to introduce to Vietnam a domestically
produced helicopter that has proven its stabil-
ity and efficiency through domestic operation
performance,” and added, “Through coopera-
tion with VTX, we will strive to prepare for the
future demand for helicopters in the Vietnamese
market and create synergy.” KAI has more than
10 helicopter platforms that it can offer to export
markets.
helicopter. The LCH does feature a high amount of import content
related to its engines and weapons, which are largely of French
origin; avionics from Israel and an electronic warfare (EW) system In June this year, KAI completed the production
from Sweden. of amphibious KUH Surion helicopters for the
Republic of Korea Marine Corps. It had delivered
the first helicopter in December 2017. In June this
HAL is also actively promoting the three-tonne LUH which made its
international show debut at the 2023 langkawi international mar- year, KAI completed the production of amphib-
itime and aerospace exhibition (LIMA). There was strong interest in ious KUH Surion helicopters for the Republic of
the LUH, which features excellent handling qualities at high altitudes Korea Marine Corps. It had delivered the first
and features modern flight avionics. The LUH is capable of flying at helicopter in December 2017
220 Kmph and has a service ceiling of 6.5 Km and a range of 350 Km
(with a 500 kg payload). HAL is slated to manufacture four LUHs in KAI is also developing amphibious attack heli-
2022-23, two each for the army and air force, followed by four LUHs copters and minesweeping helicopters for
each for the army and air force in 2024. maritime missions based on amphibious KUH
Surion helicopters. KAI began development of
Korea Aims for Rotorcraft Success an amphibious assault helicopter variant, last
October for the ROK Marines. The amphibious
The Republic of Korea’s indigenous aerospace industry is now making assault helicopter will provide aerial fire support
waves with sales successes to NATO members and strong export for ground combat units and development is
sales of light fighters, trainers, main battle tanks (MBT) and land- slated for completion in 2026. KAI is also under-
based rocket systems to name a few. Korean Aerospace Industries taking the development of a minesweeping
(KAI) is now eyeing greater exports of military helicopters to countries helicopter specialized in removing undersea
such as Vietnam, which has a long coastline and has traditionally mines. Development work began last December
been a country with a high demand for aviation. In August 2022, KAI and is scheduled to be completed in 2026.
invited ambassadors to Korea from 16 Southeast Asian countries,
including Vietnam, to introduce domestically produced its aircraft.
KAI is also eyeing exports of its KUH 1E (Export)
In June this year, KAI announced a helicopter business coopera- variant which was publicly unveiled in 2019.
tion agreement (MOU) with Vietnam’s Viettel Aerospace Institute. Theweaponised version has rockets, missiles and
According to the agreement, KAI and VTX will discover potential an optional gun pod. This new Surion variant
markets for helicopter demand in Vietnam and cooperate in rotary features upgraded avionics and sensors. The
KUH 1E has a maximum take-off weight (MTOW)
of 8,709 kg. It was designed and developed to
replace the Republic of Korea Army’s (ROKA)
500MD and UH-1 rotorcraft. While deliveries of
Surion to the Korean armed forces and para-
public operators, have crossed more than 100
units, export orders have been much harder to
come by and KAI remains in search of an export
launch customer. The KUH Surion is available in
a number of variants such as, the basic utility
helicopter, police version, amphibious version
and medevac version..
ASIAN DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2023 | 21