KAI, Mine-Clearing Helicopter Development Effect Worth 3.7 Trillion Won

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The military's decision to develop a mine countermeasure helicopter domestically is expected to generate an industrial ripple effect exceeding 3 trillion won. The mine countermeasure helicopter is designed to detect and remove naval mines installed on maritime traffic routes and landing coasts.

On the 1st, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) held the 134th Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee meeting and decided to invest a total project cost of 850 billion won from 2022 to 2030 to develop the mine countermeasure helicopter domestically.

The mine countermeasure helicopter is expected to be developed based on the Marine On, a landing maneuver helicopter for the Marine Corps produced by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). KAI anticipates that developing the mine countermeasure helicopter will have an economic effect of 2.4686 trillion won solely from research and development, including technology spillover effects (1.8226 trillion won). If mass production (1.241 trillion won) follows, the economic effect will increase to 3.7095 trillion won, and approximately 5,800 jobs are expected to be created.

A KAI official stated, “If the mine countermeasure helicopter is developed domestically, not only will the operating and maintenance costs be low, but parts compatibility will improve, raising the operational availability rate to over 85%.”

Meanwhile, the Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee decided to additionally procure large attack helicopters of the 'Apache class' through overseas purchase. The second phase of the large attack helicopter project aims to guarantee the ground forces' offensive deep maneuver operations and to transition from a troop-centric ground force to a power structure capable of three-dimensional high-speed maneuvering.

Additionally, it was decided to change the acquisition method of the guidance kit among the components of the GPS-guided bomb (2000 lbs class) (4th phase) from commercial purchase to Foreign Military Sales (FMS). The committee also reviewed and approved the follow-up ship construction plan for the Kwanggaeto-Ⅲ Batch-2 (new Aegis destroyer construction) and the system development basic plan for the performance upgrade of the K1E1 tank.