Completion of Operational Deployment of 8 Domestic Dedicated Medical Evacuation Helicopters

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Eight domestically produced medical evacuation helicopters have been deployed to the Army.

According to the military on the 9th, the military's first dedicated medical evacuation helicopter, responsible for the "golden hour" for soldiers and residents in hard-to-reach areas during disaster and search situations, is the first domestically developed dedicated medical evacuation helicopter based on the domestic helicopter "Surion."

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) completed system development from 2014 to 2016 and has sequentially delivered a total of eight helicopters to the Army from January this year until recently. The delivered helicopters are deployed and operated in Yongin, Pocheon, and Yanggu.

The dedicated helicopters are equipped with advanced emergency medical equipment such as a defibrillator, oxygen supply device, medical suction device, ventilator, and patient monitoring system.

They can provide emergency treatment to two critically ill patients during evacuation and transport up to six people.

Flight safety has also been enhanced, allowing real-time weather monitoring with weather radar to avoid flying in poor weather areas, and they are equipped with a "ground collision warning device" to detect obstacles in advance during flight. Additionally, an "external hoist (a pulley-type device for lifting patients)" is installed, enabling patient rescue and lifting even in mountainous terrain.

In particular, until now, the military has performed medical evacuation missions in a temporary form by partially equipping emergency medical equipment on Surion helicopters, but with the replacement by dedicated helicopters this time, the military's emergency treatment and patient evacuation capabilities are expected to be strengthened. Furthermore, according to the "Inter-Ministerial Emergency Medical Helicopter Joint Operation Regulation," these helicopters can be deployed upon request by the Fire Commissioner or city/provincial fire headquarters chiefs for the rescue and transport of residents in areas with poor access to large medical facilities.

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