South Korea completes development of homegrown Marine attack helicopter
South Korea has completed development of a homegrown Marine Attack Helicopter for amphibious operations and plans to produce about 20 from next year, DAPA said.
The MAH is built on a Marine variant of the KUH-1 Surion helicopter, known as the MUH-1 Marineon, with added features and weapons systems meant to counter attacks from enemy helicopters and drones, according to DAPA.
DAPA began the 450 billion-won (US$337 million) development project in 2022. It said the program has since completed test flights and weapons tests, including live-fire tests of turret-mounted machine guns, air-to-ground missiles, and guided and unguided rockets.
The helicopter passed a full combat suitability evaluation in July and received airworthiness certification in August, DAPA said.
When deployed, the MAH system is expected to expand the Marines' amphibious operations on the ground and in the air and serve as a key asset for maximizing troop mobility, according to the agency.
DAPA said it plans to begin production of about 20 of the helicopters starting next year.