[Defense Club] Surion, 10 Years in Service, Must Fly Higher

Russian Helicopters Acquired Through the Bulgom Project
Unable to Suppress Night Fires and High Maintenance Costs
Increase Use of Domestic Surion Helicopters Instead of Russian Ones

In 1992, the former government under Roh Tae-woo, unable to recover $1.47 billion in economic cooperation loans previously extended to the former Soviet Union, accepted military equipment instead. This is known as the so-called ‘Bulgom Project.’ The equipment introduced through the Bulgom Project included tanks, BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles, and air-cushion vehicles. The Russian Kamov KA-32 helicopter, known as the ‘firefighting helicopter,’ was also introduced at this time. Currently, 42 KA-32 helicopters are operated by government agencies such as the Coast Guard, the Korea Forest Service, the Fire Agency, and the National Parks Service.

Recently, the KA-32 helicopter has fallen into disuse. This is due to the astronomical costs of maintenance and repair (MRO) following the government’s participation in sanctions against Russia. The Korea Forest Service has spent 27.652 billion KRW over the past five years (2016?2020) to maintain 40 firefighting helicopters. However, efficiency remains low because the KA-32 cannot be deployed for nighttime wildfire suppression. The same applies to the American-made S-64 helicopters. The previous government purchased four S-64 helicopters for over 120 billion KRW, but they have never been deployed for nighttime wildfire suppression as they do not meet domestic nighttime flight standards. For example, during the April 2019 wildfires in Goseong and Sokcho, which ignited around 7 p.m., firefighting helicopters could not be deployed in time, allowing the fire to spread into urban areas. According to the National Institute of Forest Science, out of 5,368 wildfires nationwide since 2013, 665 (14.1%) occurred at night.

As of last year, 43.3 billion KRW remains from the former Soviet economic cooperation loans. Russia continues to participate in domestic helicopter bids. Because of this, there are calls to utilize the domestically developed Surion (KUH-1) helicopter rather than acquiring more useless Russian helicopters. Under current regulations, the Surion is the only helicopter model among those owned by the Korea Forest Service and the Fire Agency that can be deployed to nighttime wildfire scenes. Starting with the Andong wildfire in April 2020, it was also deployed in the recent East Coast wildfires, proving its effectiveness in wildfire suppression.

The Surion is equipped with two powerful 1,855-horsepower engines and can carry nine fully equipped soldiers, operating for about two and a half hours across the Korean Peninsula. Considering the mountainous terrain of the Korean Peninsula, it can hover in place at altitudes up to approximately 2,744 meters, the height of Baekdu Mountain. Derived variants of the Surion include the Medion, a dedicated medical evacuation helicopter, and the Marinon, a Marine Corps amphibious assault helicopter. In the future, mine countermeasure helicopters and amphibious assault helicopters based on the Surion are expected to be developed and commissioned into the military.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Surion’s launch. This is why voices are rising to replace the roughly ten types of helicopters currently used by government and military agencies with Surion-derived models. The domestic helicopter MRO market relies heavily on overseas subcontracted maintenance, accounting for 55%, which leads to higher maintenance costs and slower turnaround times. Replacing them with the Surion would offer significant economic advantages.

The export outlook is also bright. Industry experts expect the Surion to capture 30% of the market for helicopters of the same class, which is projected to sell over 1,000 units in the next 25 years. Calculating the unit price at 20 billion KRW, this translates to an economic effect of approximately 6 trillion KRW.

Utilizing the Surion could also accelerate the development of new technologies. Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is hastening the development of the Manned-UnManned Teaming (MUM-T) system, which will be a core element of future battlefields. The MUM-T system is a representative asymmetric power that enables cooperation between manned helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. Once weaponized, the MUM-T system will allow squadron operations where manned helicopters and unmanned drones perform missions together, significantly increasing helicopter survivability and operational efficiency.

The Surion not only enhances the performance of domestically produced helicopters but is also expected to have positive ripple effects such as reducing the Korean military’s helicopter operation and maintenance costs and improving operational availability. As the Surion celebrates its 10th anniversary of commissioning, it must continue to fly without stopping.

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