Coast Guard Headquarters Names Newly Introduced Medium Helicopter 'Hinsuri'... Deployed to Jeju and Gangneung Air Squadrons

Coast Guard's Medium Helicopter 'Hwinsuri'
Photo by Coast Guard

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The Korea Coast Guard announced on the 8th that the names of the two new medium-sized helicopters introduced at the end of December last year have been decided as 'Hwinsuri' through an employee contest.

Hwinsuri (White Eagle) is an abbreviation of the Korea Coast Guard's symbol, the 'White-tailed Sea Eagle.' Like the nicknames used by various agencies such as 'Chamsuri (National Police Agency),' 'Hallamae (Jeju Fire Department),' and 'Marineon (Marine Corps),' it embodies the unique symbolism of the Korea Coast Guard.

To effectively respond to maritime patrol and search and rescue, the Korea Coast Guard signed a purchase contract in 2016 with Korea Aerospace Industries for two domestically produced medium-sized helicopters.

After completing final inspections and test flights, the helicopters were deployed last December to the Jeju Aviation Unit of the Jeju Regional Coast Guard and the Gangneung Aviation Unit of the East Sea Regional Coast Guard, respectively.

Hwinsuri has a maximum cruising speed of 276 km/h, a maximum range of 685 km, and can perform missions for up to 3.7 hours. It can carry up to 16 passengers. It is equipped with a search radar capable of automatically tracking up to 200 targets, a high-performance electro-optical infrared camera, and an external hoist device.

In particular, some of the helicopters currently in operation had limitations on long-distance travel and night operations, but Hwinsuri can conduct search and rescue activities at sea and transport emergency patients from vessels without such restrictions.

With the introduction of the two Hwinsuri helicopters, the Korea Coast Guard now possesses a total of 26 aircraft (6 airplanes and 20 helicopters).

A Korea Coast Guard official stated, "To ensure maritime safety for the public as pursued by government innovation, we will respond swiftly to all incidents and accidents occurring at sea," adding, "Through the introduction of Hwinsuri, we will establish a more perfect emergency dispatch system and do our best to strengthen our aviation mission capabilities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.