Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has delivered the first two Mirion Light Armed Helicopters (LAH) to the South Korean government, as it makes a low-key sale of the KUH-1 Surion to Iraq.
The first two LAHs were delivered during a 26 December ceremony at KAI’s production facility in Sacheon, says the company.
The type, previously known only as LAH, was christened “Mirion” at a defence show in October.
The LAH is derived from the Airbus Helicopters H155 and will replace MD Helicopters 500MDs and Bell AH-1S Cobra attack helicopters serving with the country’s army.
The deliveries follow from a W300 billion ($203 million) production contract from Seoul’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) in December 2022 covering the first 10 examples.
A subsequent W1.7 billion contract in December 2023 covers an unspecified number of additional LAHs over a 60-month period from the fourth quarter of 2025.
“Miron is the second helicopter developed with domestic technology following [KUH-1] Surion, and it will play a major role in strengthening the army’s power in the future,” says DAPA official Hyun-ki Cho.
“We look forward to the flight of Miron, which is equipped with cutting-edge equipment and will perform numerous missions to protect the country and ensure the safety of the people.”
In a stock exchange filing, KAI has quietly announced the first international sale of the KUH-1 Surion, to Iraq. The W136 billion contract covers an unspecified number of helicopters to be supplied to Baghdad by 2029.
The Iraqi air force is already a customer of KAI, operating 24 T-50IQ advanced jet trainers.
On 23 December, KAI also disclosed that it had sold two additional parapublic Surions: one to South Korea’s coast guard, the other to its forestry service.
