Today’s KT review’s Korea’s program to develop an “indigenous” attack helicopter by 2013. Quoting an unnamed source within The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), a feasibility study was just completed which presented the following findings:
- The Korea Attack Helicopter (KAH) program estimated to cost between $5 billion and $10 billion and will require a foreign technology partner.
- The KAH program aims to replace the Army’s aging fleet of AH-1S Cobra and Hughes 500MD TOW attack helicopters.
- Recommended Seoul purchase 36 older U.S. AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters to help fill the Army’s possible operational gap before the KAH is completed around 2013 at the earliest (as reported at the MH here).
- Foreign firms invited will be Boeing (U.S.), Sikorsky (U.S.), AgustaWestland (UK/Italian), Denel Aerospace (South Africa) and Eurocopter (Franco-German). Eurocopter is the early favorite.
You can read the rest here.
It’s interesting that the KT would call the KAH program an “indigenous” weapons system considering that it will “require” technology from a foreign company. According to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, indigenous means:
“… having originated in and being produced, growing, living, or occurring naturally in a particular region or environment <indigenous plants> <the indigenous culture>“
Am I missing something?
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
Well you could argue that attack helicopters are commonly found in Korea, but I digress.
What you need is not Merriam-Webster but a “K2E Total Solution”, a Konglish to English dictionary. In that you will find “indigenous” means “obsolete or common technology that could be exported, or possible derivative technologies from such that can be exported”.
The first use I can recall was the “indigenous” bullet train technology that required (and still does require) French help. (Speaking of which, wasn’t the “indigenous” KTX supposed to be flying down the rails this year?). However there could be earlier precedents.
Korea’s indigenous fighting systems are drunk adjosshis and pissed off adjummas. Export a few of them around the globe!
Nah… more efficient to export the source of their “fighting skills.”
In any case, this is a good way for Korea to start on the path of national weaponry industry. All part of the system might not be developed by Korea but it will be a good start.
When Korea’s weaponry industry matures, it can start to build things for its own defense and sell to others. No more pressures from other country(s) to buy over-priced junk that doesn’t meet korea’s requirement.
It is still a long way to go but Korea will get there one day with its hard working and dedicated workers.
“I’m I missing something?”
Yeah, WangKon, you’re missing something. The word ‘Am’…
Good one. Fixed.
This is a big step up from the sale of second hand F-5 fighter jets for a hundred bucks apiece and the couple of retired patrol boats that were exported to the Mongolian Navy.
^^ whops. I meant to stick that post in the one about the deal with Turkey.
Nice waste of taxes given that the next Korean War would be a non-conventional one.
Unless they copy the Apache to the very last nut, this is a wanker’s errand. There are too many suppliers currently. This is a pipedream.
It would be way more cost effective to buy these off the shelf. But that wouldn’t mollify Korea’s military-industrial complex, would it?
As for the “indigenous” label, that’s purely for domestic consumption. Everyone knows it’ll be 95+% foreign technology, same as the tanks.
It’s been a while since there was any news on the production of remote controlled robot tanks and surveillance robo-dogs have been in the news. I hope nothing is interfering with the production of this marvelous leap forward into unconventional warfare…..
read: “reverse-engineered” weapons system
#11,
…and the cars.
#12,
Cruise missiles with a nuclear payload. That’s all you need to remember. The rest is just for show (and a way for the government to line the pockets of people who are already rich).
Regardless of how everybody calls it, all these aerospace related programs are still limited to Korean contractor at “assembly and test” level. All system and sub-components are acquired by piggy banking the “proven” technology from the “foreign” partner since that is the most economical, fastest and also safest way to have it made. Cost of these programs really come down to licensing agreement in loyalties paid to the “foreign” partner since under the 국산화 scheme Korean made system/components must be utilitzed even though there is nothing to be made in Korea. “Foreign partner” is chosen by how much of the technology transfer it offers through the offset but keep in mind Americans and Europreans are NOT stupid to give out the technology!! At the end, Korean contractors will have an opportunity to reverse engineer that is if they want to do…
# 14,
Regarding the cars, that would have been 1995 or so. Now, it’s pretty much Korea’s technology.
They were supposed to do that by the time Korea hosted in World Cup…
DDA, good point. I was overlooking that to be charitable.
BTW on a simular line, did you see recently how the new ‘indigenous’ KTX, which for a long time had a lock, actually had to undergo competitive bidding and will not even be used on the main Seoul-Pusan line? Its going to serve only the Daejeon/Kwangju and related points in Cholla-do.
Eurocopter is the early favorite
That was before Denel Aerospace made an offer of 100% technology transfer if the Koreans selected it as the main foreign partner.
BTW WangKon, didn’t you support this particular project in a previous thread? Why the sudden negativity?
It’s not the project… it’s calling it “indigenous” that irks me. Why not just say “domestically made?”
Mins,
An email exchange that a friend and I had recently:
“I really like the A-10 and I think it can be a far more effective tank killer than an Apache. It’s also a lot more survivable in the modern battle field. Iraq has proved that despite all the Hughes propaganda that the Apache can withstand 12.5 and 23mm cannon fire, it can be downed with mere small arms fire. An A-10 can take a tremendous pounding and still make it to base. It’s a tremendous weapons plateform and with the right technology can be better. It may not be a better infantry support weapon as a helo gunship, but again, we are talking tank killer in a modern battlefield.”
“It’s too bad that the A-10 doesn’t get retrofitted with advanced avionics, night vision gear, GPS and all those goodies… it would be awsome. I’d say that Korea buy a couple of hundred A-10s, can probably get them cheap, and do the retrofit themselves. But then again, that might kill the Korean attack helo project….”
The A-10 costs about $12 million each, and upgrades/retrofitting will cost another $12 million, not counting munitions and spares. It’s not an expensive aircraft, but Fairchild-Republic pretty much dead and the only avail aircraft are USAF/ANG surplus. If the USAF intends to keep ~350 upgraded A-10′s flying for another 10-20 years, they won’t sell the surplus aircraft because they need it for spares.
$24M total… still cheaper than a Eurocopter Tiger at ~$36M.
Probably easier to reverse engineer since the engines are available commercially.
However, there is no export market for a A-10 copy, so pass…
But man could an A-10 chew up tanks like no other… be they North Korean or from a little norther…
Thanks for the info, WangKon.
Personally I wouldn’t mind seeing a squadron or two of A-10s in the ROKAF. The plane is the right type of plane for the ROKAF, more than I dare say the F-15K.
But the ROKAF is an air force that prefers new build late model Cadillacs to second hand Chevys, which is why you won’t see it go for it.
It is also interesting to note that during the late 70s, the ROKAF was offered A-4 Skyhawks because the USAF felt that it suited the needs of the ROKAF considering its cost effectiveness, ground attack capabilities and its agility which came in handy when going against MiG-17s which were plentiful in the KPAAF. OF course, the ROKAF spurned the offer and went for F-5E/Fs, instead.
I like the A-4. It was the plane that won the Six Day War for Israel.
I’d say that defense against NK is secondary now to ROK weapon’s procurement. Korea wants to develop into a weapons exporter and is doing so the same way it cut its teeth in ships and cars. Develop a domestic market, have the government be a big consumer/supporter, protect against competing imports, create something of competative value… and finally, export abroad.
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