S. Korea flies its most capable Surion helicopter variant yet

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Korea Aerospace Industries’ production line for the Surion helicopter is receiving a shot in the arm thanks to the development of two new versions for South Korea’s military, plus production for a new export customer.

When KAI first mooted the Surion in 2007, officials voiced ambitious plans to export 300 helicopters over 25 years. Unfortunately, those dreams are nowhere close to being realized, as just two have been sold overseas so far.

Nonetheless, new variants like the Marine Attack Helicopter (MAH) – heavily armed and designed to support Korean amphibious operations – will keep KAI’s production facility ticking over.

The armed MAH is the most capable version of the Surion helicopter yet, and KAI engineers recently oversaw the maiden flight of the first of three prototypes. The company announced the milestone in mid-January, even though the flight actually occurred Dec. 17.

Now, development of the 19,200lb (8,709kg) MAH will proceed with a series of comprehensive tests slated to conclude in August 2026. Kang Koo-young, KAI’s President, said, “Now that we’ve reached an important turning point for successful development, we’ll conduct more fair and reliable flight test evaluations to create an aircraft that our military and citizens can trust.”

The MAH has a chin-mounted 20mm cannon, plus stub wings that carry rockets, air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles.

Development of the MAH commenced in October 2022, with ground testing starting last October. It benefited from systems integration work performed earlier on KAI’s Mirion light armed helicopter, of which South Korea’s army formally received the first two on Dec. 26, 2024. The Mirion is an armed version of the Airbus H155.

For its part, the MAH is based on the MUH-1 Marineon multirole helicopter already used by Korea’s Marine Corps, with KAI noting advantages in terms of training and logistics.

KAI handed over the last of 30 Marineon helicopters in June 2023, and a year later it announced completion of production of 210 KUH-1 Surions for the country’s army.

KAI is also working on the Korean Mine Countermeasures Helicopter version of the Surion. A key piece of its equipment is Northrop Grumman’s Airborne Laser Mine Detection System that detects, classifies and localizes floating and near-surface moored mines.

However, Surion export orders have lagged far behind domestic demand. Cho Hyun-ki, a Defense Acquisition Program Administration official, had said last year: “We’ll do our best to ensure that Surion can flap its wings overseas.”

Its first successful flutter duly occurred last December when KAI signed the Surion’s first export contract worth 136 billion won (US$92.7 million). A stock exchange filing confirmed Iraq was buying just two helicopters suitable for firefighting. These are to be delivered by March 2029.

Surion civil orders are keeping the production line going too, with the Korea Coast Guard operating nine Surions and the Korea Forest Service four aircraft. Each agency ordered one addition Surion last month, these due for handover in December 2027. In total, South Korean government agencies have contracted for 35 Surions.