[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The U.S. Lockheed Martin MH-60R (Seahawk) model has been selected as the Navy's next maritime operation helicopter. The second phase of the maritime operation helicopter project is a program to secure maritime operation helicopters with anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare capabilities through overseas procurement to enhance the Navy's long-range surface and underwater detection and attack capabilities on naval vessels.
On the 15th, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) held the 132nd Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee (DAPPC) chaired by Defense Minister Seo Wook, and deliberated and approved the selection of the MH-60R model for the Navy's second maritime operation helicopter project.
The Seahawk, with a total project cost of 960 billion KRW and 12 units to be introduced, will be fully deployed by 2025. DAPA plans to sign the contract within this year. The Seahawk measures 19.7 meters in length, 5.1 meters in height, and has a rotor diameter of 3.3 meters, with a maximum speed of 150 knots. It is armed with torpedoes and air-to-ship guided missiles and equipped with dipping sonar and sonobuoys for enemy submarine detection. It can operate for about 4 hours per flight. It is operated by the U.S., Australia, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, and it is known that India and Greece have also contracted for it this year.
Additionally, the project to upgrade the performance of the CH-47 large mobility helicopter owned by the Army has been decided to be discontinued. DAPA explained, "After comprehensively considering schedule, performance, and cost, the DAPPC decided to discontinue the CH/HH-47D performance upgrade project at this meeting," and added, "We plan to promptly proceed with follow-up projects in consultation with the military to prevent any power gaps."
The meeting also discussed the mid- to long-term development direction of the medium mobility helicopter force. DAPA stated, "We established the plan after comprehensively reviewing military operations and domestic helicopter industry development aspects," and reported, "It was deliberated and approved that the UH-60 basic helicopter will be replaced by a next-generation mobility helicopter upon reaching the end of its lifecycle, the UH-60 special operations helicopter will undergo separate performance upgrades, and the Surion helicopter will pursue performance upgrades after mass production completion."
Furthermore, the performance upgrades for the F-15K fighter jet's anti-jamming (radio interference evasion) capabilities, including GPS (Global Positioning System), IFF (Identification Friend or Foe), and Link-16, will be entrusted to the U.S. Boeing company. A total of 300 billion KRW will be invested by 2026, with contracts to be signed within this year. In addition, the basic strategy for promoting the Mine Sweeper Ship (MSH)-II project was also deliberated and approved. The mine sweeper ship project aims to secure forces capable of mine detection and removal in major ports and maritime traffic routes, as well as responding to non-military threats such as search and rescue support during maritime accidents and marine pollution prevention. A total project cost of approximately 1.88 trillion KRW will be invested from 2022 to 2035.
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