The Fate of the Army UH-60 Helicopter [Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club]

'Kai vs. Korean Air' in UH-60 Performance Improvement Project
Preparing for Next-Generation Helicopter Introduction After 2030

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Korean Air will compete in the UH-60 helicopter performance upgrade project used by the Army. Both companies plan to undertake the performance upgrade project in partnership with domestic and international firms.

Sikorsky's UH-60 Black Hawk Multipurpose Helicopter

According to the military on the 26th, the performance upgrade of the UH-60 helicopter, known as the "Black Hawk," which is the backbone of helicopter forces, has been pursued since 2020. At that time, a decision had not been made whether to upgrade the UH-60 or to introduce the Korean-made helicopter Surion. However, in December of the same year, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Steering Committee announced that "the UH-60 helicopter will be replaced by a next-generation mobility helicopter upon reaching the end of its life cycle." This means extending the life cycle through performance upgrades.

At that time, DAPA proposed replacing 103 basic UH-60 helicopters, excluding 36 special operations helicopters, with Surion helicopters, considering the strong request from KAI, the manufacturer of Surion. However, this clashed with opposition from the Army, the direct user of the helicopters. The Army's position prevailed.

Surion Replacement Fails... Performance Upgrade Takes Shape

The military operates 139 UH-60 helicopters (113 Army, 8 Navy, 18 Air Force). As the UH-60s introduced in the 1990s aged, the military has been pushing for a performance upgrade project since 2013, but it has been continuously delayed, and the project cost is expected to approach 2 trillion KRW. The core of the project includes missile warning devices, forward observation equipment (EO/IR), and satellite inertial navigation equipment (EGI). The UH-60 special operations helicopters held by the Army lack these devices. This makes it impossible to counter North Korea's air defense missile systems and restricts precise navigation during night and limited weather conditions, making decapitation operations targeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and the North Korean leadership fundamentally impossible.

Operational rates have also declined. Most of the UH-60 special operations helicopters are over 30 years old, and some repair parts have been discontinued, requiring long lead times for custom manufacturing. The average operational rate of these helicopters has sharply dropped by more than 10% over the past five years, highlighting the urgent need for countermeasures.

After dropping off the soldiers, the UH-60 Black Hawk moved to Jochiwon Base, where the 605th Battalion is located, and demonstrated tactical terrain flight.

The company entering the performance upgrade project is KAI, which failed to supply the Surion. On the 23rd, at the Farnborough Airshow in the UK, KAI signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Hanwha Systems and declared its challenge to the performance upgrade project. KAI plans to lead the aircraft system development as the main contractor, while Hanwha Systems will be responsible for developing the avionics systems as a participating company.

KAI Teams Up with Hanwha Systems to Showcase Helicopter Development Capabilities

KAI expresses confidence, stating that based on its diverse helicopter development experience with Surion and LAH, it possesses core technologies across all areas of aircraft development required for UH performance upgrades, including design, analysis, manufacturing, airworthiness, testing, and follow-up support. Hanwha Systems holds advanced technological capabilities in avionics systems, including aircraft survivability, communication, and electro-optical functions. Notably, KAI and Hanwha Systems plan to collaborate not only on this performance upgrade project but also on future Surion upgrades and exports, small armed helicopter (LAH) exports, and next-generation mobility helicopter development projects.

Korean Air Holds Advantage with Licensed Production and Overhaul Experience

In October last year, Korean Air decided to pursue technological cooperation with a U.S. defense company. The U.S. defense company is Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of Raytheon (RTX). Collins Aerospace specializes in military aircraft, space systems, and manufacturing. It operates in various fields including avionics, mechanical parts, power, control, and mission systems. Notably, it was responsible for the digitalization of the cockpit and performance upgrades of the MH-60, the U.S. military’s special operations version of the UH-60.

The UH-60 Black Hawk is demonstrating fuel drum and artillery towing.

Korean Air is evaluated to have all the technical skills and expertise necessary for the production, modification, and maintenance of the UH-60. It began domestic production of the UH-60 in 1990 and successfully delivered over 130 units, achieving operational deployment. It currently performs depot-level maintenance (MRO) on the UH-60s operated by the Korean military. Depot-level maintenance involves completely disassembling each part for inspection and repair to restore the aircraft to its original performance at delivery. For aircraft, this refers to a series of tasks including Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul.

Army’s Next-Generation Helicopter: ‘Domestic Development vs. Overseas Procurement’ Dilemma

The Army plans to seek a new helicopter to replace the UH-60 when it becomes obsolete, even after performance upgrades. The plan is to introduce a model with significantly improved speed and operational range compared to the current model, which could differ greatly in shape from the Black Hawk. The project is named ‘Next-Generation High-Speed Medium Mobility Helicopter Acquisition.’ If the project proceeds smoothly, the helicopter is expected to be operational in the field from the late 2030s.

It remains undecided whether the new helicopter will be developed entirely from scratch as a system development project or acquired through purchase of domestic or foreign models. Attention is also focused on the U.S. military’s new helicopter project, which coincides in timing. The U.S. Army is currently pursuing the ‘Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft’ (FLRAA) project to introduce a mobility helicopter with increased range and speed to replace the Black Hawk. The V-280 Valor, jointly developed by major defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Bell, has been selected for this project. Delivery is expected to begin in the 2030s.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

The V-280 features tilt rotors. While conventional helicopters have a large main rotor above the fuselage and a vertical tail rotor, the V-280 has large rotors at the tips of both wings, resembling the V-22 Osprey operated by the U.S. Marine Corps. Tilt rotors can change the rotor axis from vertical during takeoff and landing to horizontal during flight, enabling both vertical takeoff/landing and high-speed flight. The V-280 achieves a top speed of 565 km/h, significantly faster than the Black Hawk’s approximately 300 km/h. If the allied U.S. military’s main mobility helicopter speed increases this much, considering joint operational capabilities, there will be a growing need to improve the performance of Korean military equipment, raising the possibility of applying new configurations such as tilt rotors.

If it is decided to domestically develop a high-performance helicopter to replace the Black Hawk, expectations arise that it could surpass the existing Surion (KUH-1) and small armed helicopter (LAH), further expanding the scope of K-defense exports.

The military stated, "Considering the development trends of mobility helicopters in advanced military countries, a next-generation high-speed medium mobility helicopter capable of multi-domain operations and enhanced operational capabilities is needed, not only with improved basic performance such as speed and operational range but also significantly better than current models."