South Korea has begun a study into its attack helicopter requirement, with the country deciding between an indigenous AH-X development programme and an international tender for an off-the-shelf solution.
"The government had informal discussions with several companies on what they can offer. It has also talked to KAI [Korea Aerospace Industries] about the viability of a domestic programme. Some senior officials feel that an indigenous programme is too expensive and that it may be more prudent to go for an existing platform, but the study will help them decide," says an industry source in Seoul.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration, South Korea's arms procurement agency, has commissioned the study that is likely to be completed around the third quarter of this year, adds a second source. The recommendation will help in the replacement of the army's older Bell AH-1 and MD Helicopters MD-500 attack helicopters.
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Among the contenders, if the government issues an international request for information, would be the AgustaWestland AW-129 Mangusta, Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow, Bell AH-1Z Cobra, Eurocopter Tiger, and Kamov KA-52. The initial requirement is for around 36 helicopters that should be in service in 2012, but South Korea has an overall requirement for about 270 attack helicopters.
The alternative is for an attack variant of an indigenous military utility helicopter that KAI and Eurocopter are developing under the Korea Helicopter Programme. South Korea could order up to 500 of these 8t utility helicopters to replace an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1Hs and MD-500s. However, the programme is late, with production not expected to begin until 2012, and likely to have cost about $5.4 billion by 2011. There were also teething problems between KAI and Eurocopter in the initial stages of the development.
"Yes, they are finally making progress with the KHP. However, is it worth going ahead with an indigenous attack helicopter? That would require significant modifications to the utility helicopter platform, and that could take up to 10 years to complete with no guarantee of success. It would also cost a lot more. There is a growing sentiment that an off-the-shelf solution would be more viable," says the second source.
Source: Flight International
