[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Presidential Helicopter to Be Replaced

Bangchuwi Approves Agenda Including Command Helicopter-II Project
Airbus, Bell, Lockheed Martin Models Likely to Be Selected

The presidential helicopter will be replaced. Since the presidential helicopter is a model operated by the Air Force with only three units, it will be pursued through overseas procurement, as before, rather than domestic development.

The VH-92, a presidential helicopter modified from the Sikorsky S-92.

On the 29th, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced at the 158th Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Defense Promotion Committee) meeting that the Command Helicopter-II project to secure a new command helicopter will be pursued through overseas procurement.

The presidential helicopter is called the Air Force One helicopter. The current presidential helicopter model is the ‘VH-92,’ a VIP-modified version of the American Sikorsky S-92. This company also manufactured the U.S. presidential helicopter, the ‘Marine One’ used by the U.S. Marine Corps. The ‘VH-92’ was decided to be introduced in 1999, early in the Kim Dae-jung administration. It took about eight years until final introduction, which occurred in the latter part of the Roh Moo-hyun administration. However, it has been pointed out that the replacement is urgent as it is an outdated model that has exceeded its service life by as much as five years. The typical replacement cycle for the presidential helicopter is 10 years.

The VH-92 is criticized for being too large, making it difficult to prepare a suitable helipad at the Hannam-dong official residence, and for being an old model with a high risk of accidents. In August last year, it suffered an accident where the tail rotor was damaged after hitting a tree while landing at the Yongsan Presidential Office building helipad. President Yoon Suk-yeol was not on board the helicopter at the time of the accident.

Currently, the candidate models for the presidential helicopter are the H225M (Airbus), Bell 525 (Bell), AW101 (Leonardo), and S-92A+ (Lockheed Martin). Historically, South Korean presidents have used presidential helicopters manufactured by American companies such as the △UH-1 △412 SP △VH-60P and the French AS-332.

Meanwhile, air-to-air missiles to be mounted on the Korean fighter KF-21 will be developed domestically. At the Defense Promotion Committee meeting, it was decided to pursue the Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile-II project, which secures short-range air-to-air missiles to be mounted on the KF-21, through domestic development. Approximately 591.9 billion KRW will be invested by 2035.

Additionally, the Defense Promotion Committee reviewed and approved ▲ the initial mass production plan for air-to-ground guided missiles (AGM), ▲ the basic strategy for the Maritime Operations Helicopter-II project, ▲ the basic strategy for the Command Helicopter-II project, and ▲ the basic plan for system development of the UH/HH-60 performance improvement project. The AGM is an air-to-ground guided missile to be mounted on the Light Armed Helicopter (LAH), which performs the Army’s air strike and airborne assault operations, and will be mass-produced domestically. After the AGM mass production project, which will invest 724.8 billion KRW by 2031, is completed, the LAH will become a core force of the Army to annihilate enemy armored and mechanized units. The Maritime Operations Helicopter-II project, which will introduce a new helicopter to replace the aging Lynx maritime operations helicopter, will also be pursued.

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