[Defense Column] Next-Generation Maritime Operation Helicopter: Foreign or Domestic?

[Monthly Defense Times Editor-in-Chief An Seung-beom] The Navy's second acquisition project for maritime operation helicopters has been gaining momentum since the preliminary research contract with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and the Security Management Research Institute was completed at the end of June 2021, with directions expected to be presented by the end of October, marking the official start of the project. The first acquisition project was decided on December 15, 2020, to procure 12 MH-60R helicopters from Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company in the United States, which will be introduced and deployed by 2025.

The second maritime operation helicopter project aims to secure 24 units, replacing all existing Lynx series helicopters and providing a quantity sufficient to be deployed as anti-submarine helicopters for the Korean-type aircraft carrier CVX. The second project gained momentum in December 2019 when the existing Super Lynx Mk.99A upgrade project was canceled, leading to the start of preliminary research.

The Lynx helicopters, operated by the Naval Aviation Squadron since 1990, will be initially replaced by 12 MH-60R Seahawk helicopters, and the Super Lynx, introduced in 2000, will be replaced by a subsequent quantity of 24 units. By the early 2030s, the total number of new maritime operation helicopters, including 8 AW-159 Wildcat units, is expected to reach 44.

Companies expected to participate in the second maritime operation helicopter project include Lockheed Martin of the United States and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). Of course, after the preliminary research, the acquisition method?whether overseas procurement or domestic development?awaits decision. Although it will be determined through procedures such as the Defense Acquisition Program Review Committee, currently a competition between the MH-60R Seahawk and the Surion maritime operation helicopter is anticipated.

At the request of the preliminary research contractor, the Security Management Research Institute, Lockheed Martin is providing MH-60R Seahawk data, and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is expected to provide data subsequently. An interesting fact is that Leonardo is discussing cooperation with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration is monitoring the situation with a policy to increase the participation ratio of domestic companies. In this way, among the carrier-based aircraft to be operated on the Korean-type aircraft carrier CVX in the 2030s, the second maritime operation helicopter project is the first to get underway.