South Korean Marines not getting aviation brigade

By Jung Sung-ki

South Korea's Ministry of National Defense has scrapped a plan to inaugurate a Marine Corps aviation brigade in its latest revision of the Defense Reform 2020 initiative, which some critics say has a greater focus on building up the Army than other services, a military source said Thursday.``I've been told that top ministry officials don't feel the need to launch an aviation brigade for the Marine Corps,'' the source told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity. ``The plan has been canceled anyway, and I'm not sure at the moment when the scheme will be revived.''Instead, the Marine Corps may operate battalion-level aviation units, he said.The source said a plan to provide the Marine Corps with some of indigenous utility helicopters to be produced from 2012 has also been shelved. The source was apparently referring to the Korea Utility Helicopter (KUH) contract signed in 2006 under which the Korea Aerospace Industries and France's Eurocopter have been jointly developing a troop-carrying helicopter.About 240 indigenous utility helicopters will be produced to replace the Army's older fleet of UH-1Hs and MD500s. Experts have called for measures to help strengthen the Marine Corps' mobile, air-to-ground and three-dimensional operational capabilities by using different types of amphibious equipment ― landing assault vehicles, helicopters and other combat assets. Against this backdrop, the Marine Corps, which has no aircraft of its own and relies on air support from the Army and Navy, earlier pushed for plans to create an aviation brigade with transport and attack helicopters by 2015. The service also wanted to deploy its own unmanned aerial surveillance vehicles by 2014 to boost its independent intelligence-gathering and surveillance capabilities. ``The Marines' air-to-ground capability is key part of steps to develop a rapid deployment force and conduct various missions, such as combating terrorism and piracy, securing sea lanes and performing peacekeeping,'' a researcher of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses said, asking not to be named. ``We have one of the best Marine forces in the world, but force-projection capability from the sea to inland targets is limited due to the lack of long-range mobility,'' he said. ``To successfully project power deep inland while avoiding the enemy's surveillance network, operations of advanced helicopters and high-speed amphibious assault vehicles and air-cushioned ships are essential.''The ministry plans to report the revised version of the military modernization program to President Lee Myung-bak within the coming weeks, sources said. The sources said Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee briefed lawmakers late last month on the draft revision. Some legislators called the revision an imbalanced plan in favor of an army buildup, they said. Under the draft plan, for instance, the Air Force's long-delayed bids to procure air tankers and high-altitude spy planes have been withheld again. The Navy is also suffering setbacks in acquiring more Aegis destroyers and developing 3,000-ton heavy attack submarines, as well as creating an aviation unit.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr

Posted in: Naval