Success in developing the world’s 7th armed helicopter
A total of 9 trillion was invested until the introduction of attack helicopters
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on the 28th that it has decided on a plan won 9 trillion for the mass production of small armed helicopters (pictured) developed with domestic technology and the introduction of large attack helicopters.
DAPA held a defense project promotion committee (Banchuwi) on the same day and discussed and voted on the first mass production plan for small armed helicopters, which will invest a total project cost of 5.75 trillion won between this year and 2031. the light armored helicopter business is a project that replaces old helicopters (500MD, AH1S) with mass-produced light armored helicopters researched and developed with domestic technology. The DAPA plans to sign a mass production agreement with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), which developed the small armed helicopter, within this year.
The small armed helicopter development project began with a requirements determination in 2001, went through exploration and development (2011-12), initial test evaluation (2019-20), and was deemed fit for provisional combat in December 2020. Electrification is expected to take place from 2024, and field operational tests from 2025. An official from the DAPA said, “We have not only secured our own development capability by successfully developing an armed helicopter for the seventh time in the world, but have also develop a helicopter suitable for the future battlefield environment through state-of-the-art loading. state of the art avionics equipment and domestically developed weapons.” It will contribute greatly to the continued development of the aviation industry and the creation of jobs.”
The amendment to the basic strategy for promoting the second large-scale attack helicopter project and the purchase plan has also passed the Prime Minister’s Office on the same day. Its purpose is to help the Army’s Mobile Division conduct offensive deep maneuver operations faster and support aerial firepower by securing large attack helicopters through foreign purchases. The cost of the project is set at a total of 3.3 trillion won between next year and 2028. It is known that the model purchased is the latest Apache helicopter model produced in the United States.
In addition, the BCC decided to invest 820 billion won by 2036 in the development and electrification of 155mm precision-guided artillery shells, the Korean version of the “Excalibur shell,” and the development of the 130mm Guided Rocket II system, the Korean version of the “Spike Missile.”
The precision-guided 155mm artillery shell is fired with the K9 self-propelled howitzer, and the focus is on securing technology that dramatically improves accuracy through domestic research and development. Between 2024 and 36, the total cost of the project from exploration and development to electrification is about 440 billion won. The Excalibur shell used by the US military is a precision guided 155mm shell. The DAPA expects, “We will maximize the effectiveness of the military’s firepower operation by ensuring a system that can rapidly and accurately strike key enemy targets.”
The 130mm Guided Rocket II project aims to develop an anti-ship and ground-based weapon system that uses a mobile vehicle launch system, while the previously developed 130mm guided rocket ‘Biryong’ is an anti-ship weapon system launched from Chamsuri class. a fast boat. It plans to invest 380 billion won between this year and 2033. The launch vehicle is developed by improving the ‘Cheonmu’ vehicle. Its purpose is to develop a weapons system domestically similar to Israel’s Spike missile.
Reporter Kang Guk-jin
