South Korea may axe indigenous attack helicopter plan

South Korea is likely to scrap or, at least, delay a program to develop an indigenous attack helicopter following an assessment that it was nonviable economically and technically, an official source said Thursday. Instead, the Lee Myung-bak administration wants to speed up efforts to purchase foreign attack helicopters under the AH-X program to replace the Army's aging fleet, he said. Cheong Wa Dae has recently shown strong skepticism about the Korea Attack Helicopter (KAH) program, initiated by former President Roh Moo-hyun who focused on building a ``self-reliant'' defense posture, particularly after witnessing the indigenous T-50 Golden Eagle trainer's defeat in a $1 billion acquisition deal offered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in February, the source said. The UAE selected Italy's Aermacchi M-346 over the T-50 supersonic trainer built by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Lockheed Martin of the U.S. as the preferred bidder to supply the UAE Air Force with 48 aircraft and training equipment.``President Lee Myung-bak, as you know, puts much emphasis on economic feasibility and practicality. He is negative about the KAH program in that context,'' the source told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity. The move also comes as the government plans to privatize some ``under-performing'' public firms, including KAI, he added. The KAH program aimed to build about 270 attack helicopters with the help of foreign partners, following the ongoing Korea Utility Helicopter (KUH) program, led by KAI and Eurocopter, for developing and producing 245 troop-carrying helicopters.But many defense experts say purchasing aircraft from foreign manufacturers would be more economically sound than developing a home-grown model, which is expected to cost up to 10 trillion won.In a related move, a closed-door conference on the AH-X program was held at a Seoul hotel, where six foreign bidders from the United States, Russia, Italy, and France attended to give presentations. Candidates include Boeing's AH-64, Sikorsky's AH-60 and Bell's AH-1Z from the U.S.; the KA-52 from the Arseniev Russian Progress company; Italy's Agusta T/A-129; and Eurocopter's EC-665, according to a report released by the Korea Industrial Development Institute. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) commissioned a three-month feasibility study to the private institute in late February ahead of a final decision to be made by June. According to the report, DAPA will purchase a total of 36 attack helicopters and deploy them after 2011.``The current attack helicopter fleet flown by the South Korean Army lacks strategic deterrence and rapid-response capabilities,'' the report said. ``There is a possibility that a serious security vacuum would occur as most of the existing helicopters are aging.''For example, about half of the Army's 500MD TOW helicopters will reach their life span of 30 years by 2013, and AH-1S helicopters have also been operated for more than 16 years, it said. The report reiterated the difficulties in developing an advanced attack helicopter, citing a long gestation period and budgetary problems. ``There is no country, even if it has an outstanding helicopter building infrastructure, technology and experience as well as related experts, that has succeeded in developing an attack helicopter within 10 years,'' it said, referring to attack helicopter development programs of major manufacturers worldwide. It took more than nine yeas in general to see the first flight after development and an average of 21 years to have them enter service initially, the report indicated. Informed sources say the DAPA is now very interested in buying 36 refurbished AH-64 Apache helicopters. It wants to receive the first batch of 18 Block II Apache Longbow models modified from the Block I standard by 2012, and the second batch of older units, dubbed MIMEX, by 2014, he said. The Apache Longbow is armed with AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and Hydra 70 laser-guided rockets. The agency wants to purchase the 36 second-hand Apaches for about one trillion won, he said. The moves follow U.S. Forces Korea (USFK)'s withdrawal of a fleet of 24 Apache helicopters from the Korean Peninsula in March for rotational deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan this fall.Public jitters have grown here since then over a possible security vacuum, as the U.S. Apache units are in charge of key missions to deter North Korean armored units in the case of war.

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