Korea Aerospace Industries Rotorcraft Pair Makes Dubai Debut

DUBAI—Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is using the Dubai Airshow to internationally debut South Korea's growing rotorcraft prowess.

The company’s test pilots are putting the Surion Korean Utility Helicopter (KUH) and the second prototype Light Attack Helicopter (LAH), a twin-engine rotorcraft derived from the Airbus H155 platform, through their paces in the Dubai skies.

Although the company has displayed its fixed-wing products at shows around the world, such as its T-50 advanced trainer and FA-50 light attack aircraft, the company has never displayed its rotorcraft beyond Korea’s borders, and neither the KUH nor LAH have yet secured an export customer.

“There are some potential customers in the Middle East region who have shown an interest in our rotorcraft,” JungMoo Yang, senior manager and team leader at KAI, tells ShowNews. “By having the aircraft in the air display, we are able to show our capability and performance."

The KUH potentially enters a market with stiff competition, however, with established players including Airbus’ Super Puma and Sikorsky’s Black Hawk, but Yang emphasizes that KAI is bringing a new multi-mission product to the market.

“We have built up a lot of experience supplying aircraft to Korean government [customers], and we have experience with logistics and developing an optimized solution for customers,” Yang explains.

The KUH displayed at Dubai is designated KUHE, or KUH Export, and is being used by KAI to evaluate potential export options, including different avionics and sand filters to protect the engines in desert climates. In the static display, the port-side stub wing pylons have been fitted with a range of UAE-developed armaments, including anti-armor missiles and guided rockets. Other options could include an under-nose cannon like that fitted to the Marine Attack Helicopter version of the Surion.

“The aircraft is a testbed to show that we can modify the platform to fulfill customer requirements,” Yang says.

Development of the LAH is now complete, Yang adds, and the aircraft is now being prepared for entry into service with the South Korean military.

Meanwhile, the company also is embarking on initial studies for a fast rotorcraft platform that could enter service in around 2040.

KAI is set to explore several designs for high-speed rotary-wing aircraft, including tiltrotor and compound configurations.

KAI is hoping that its helicopter family can capture international orders as successfully as its FA-50, which counts Iraq as a customer in the region. The light attack aircraft also is being supplied to Poland.

Recent years have seen South Korean industry export surface-to-air-missile systems to the UAE, while Abu Dhabi has signed a memorandum of understanding around the development of KAI’s proposed MC-X airlifter, a model of which is on display at the company’s stand sporting a distinctive Orca color scheme.