South Korea begins serial production of LAH-1 Miron helicopters
The ceremony of handing over the first LAH-1 helicopters to the customer, December 26, 2024.
Since the beginning of the last decade, the army and industry of the Republic of Korea have been developing a new medium combat helicopter. By now, they have completed all the necessary work and have begun serial production of this machine. At the end of December, the customer received the first two serial products, which will be accepted into service under the index LAH-1 and the name Miron.
First delivery
On December 26, a ceremony was held at the Korea Aerospace Industries plant in Sacheon to hand over the first LAH-1 helicopters to the customer. The event was attended by the management of the manufacturer, representatives of the armed forces and other officials.
The delivery of production LAH-1s began with two helicopters recently built at KAI's Sacheon plant. The customer accepted the aircraft and signed the necessary documents.
During the ceremony, officials emphasized the significance of this event and the Miron project as a whole. Representatives of the customer and contractor confirmed their readiness to fulfill existing contracts in a timely manner and in full. Thanks to this, the armed forces of South Korea will receive the required number of new helicopters by the beginning of the next decade.
In the near future, the first two LAH-1s are planned to be sent to one of the army's combat units. aviation for development and start of operation. The details of these plans are not yet specified. It is also unknown when the new helicopters will be handed over to the customer. It is assumed that this will happen in the coming months.
The South Korean Defense Ministry plans to purchase and receive more than 2031 helicopters of the new model by 200. There are already two contracts, but their volume remains unknown. They may not provide for the delivery of all planned helicopters. If so, then in the future we should expect new contracts between the military department and the KAI corporation.
One of the first production LAH-1s
Modern replacement
In 2010, the command of the ground forces of South Korea came to the conclusion that it was necessary to update the fleet of combat helicopters of the army aviation. Requirements for a promising helicopter were formed, after which the corresponding work and search began. With the help of the new equipment, in the future, they were going to replace the existing Hughes MD 500MD Defender and Bell AH-1S Cobra machines.
The first half of the 2010s was spent studying the existing possibilities and searching for a contractor who would develop a full-fledged project in the near future. At this stage, a decision was made to simultaneously develop two unified helicopters - combat and civil.
The developer of the LAH (Light Armed Helicopter) and LCH (Light Civil Helicopter) projects was selected in June 2015. Both helicopters were to be developed by KAI Corporation. It received corresponding orders from the Ministry of Defense, represented by the defense procurement agency DAPA, and from the Korea Advancement Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT). In 2022, the program plans were expanded. KAI began developing the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), a multi-purpose transport and passenger helicopter.
The contract between KAI and DAPA was for the development of the LAH combat helicopter. The cost of this work was estimated at 650 billion won (approx. 590 million US dollars). The customer for the LCH project was KEIT, which allocated only 350 billion won (approx. 315 million US dollars) for this project. In addition, the developer corporation itself was to invest another 200 billion won (180 million US dollars).
In March 2015, even before receiving the order to develop the two projects, KAI entered into a cooperation agreement with the European company Airbus Helicopter. According to this document, Airbus was to provide documentation for its H155 helicopter and invest 400 billion won (approximately $360 million) in the joint project.
At the test stage
The LAH project was essentially based on the existing Airbus H155 helicopter, which simplified and sped up its development to a certain extent. Already in 2017-18, KAI was able to begin assembling the first prototype helicopter for future testing.
Miron at one of the recent exhibitions. The OES and gun mount are clearly visible
The LAH prototype was assembled at the KAI plant in Sacheon. The finished helicopter was rolled out and unveiled in December 2018. Additional events and ground tests took about six months. The first flight took place in early July 2019.
That same year, the second LAH prototype rolled out of the shop, with a third following shortly after. Flight tests of the second helicopter began in December 2019, and the third took to the air in 2020.
Over the next few years, the three helicopters regularly performed flights for various purposes. The operation of systems and mechanisms was tested, and various characteristics were confirmed. A significant part of the tests was spent on practicing the use of standard weapons. Despite the complexity of the project, by 2023, all major work was successfully completed.
Contracts and plans
Based on the results of the tests, the Ministry of Defense decided to begin purchasing a new helicopter. It was previously announced that at least 210 new machines are needed to update the army aviation helicopter fleet. Their construction may take a significant amount of time and will require appropriate funding.
The first contract for the serial production of LAH was signed in December 2022. Under its terms, KAI Corporation is to build and deliver the first batch of 10 helicopters to the army at a total cost of 302 billion won ($235 million). The first machines were scheduled to be delivered in December 2024. These plans were fulfilled, albeit several days before the deadline.
In December 2023, DAPA issued a second contract for the serial production of LAH. This time, the contract was worth 1,4 billion won ($1,08 billion). The number of helicopters ordered was not specified. It is likely that several dozen machines are involved. Their deliveries will begin in late 2025.
Propulsion system and rotor hub
According to published data, the construction of 210 helicopters will continue until 2031. It can be assumed that the two existing contracts will not cover even half of these plans, and new ones will be concluded in the future.
In early October 2024, it became known that the new helicopters would be put into service under the updated index LAH-1. In addition, the new product received the name "Miron" (Korean: "Dragon-hundred").
Technical features
The LAH-1 Miron is a light attack helicopter designed for the South Korean Army Aviation. The aircraft will search for and destroy various ground targets, for which a set of rocket and barrel weapons.
The helicopter is built according to a normal scheme with one main rotor and a tail rotor in a ring channel. It has a streamlined fuselage with a pilot's cabin in the nose and a cargo-passenger cabin in the middle part. The power plant is located in the upper part of the fuselage, above the cabin.
The overall length of the LAH-1 is 14,3 m with a maximum height (parked) of 4,3 m. The dry weight of the helicopter is 3,4 t, maximum takeoff weight is about 5 t.
The helicopter is powered by two Safran Arriel 2L2 turboshaft engines, each producing 1024 hp. The rotor system is of traditional architecture with a five-bladed propeller. The maximum speed is declared to be over 240 km/h and the range is about 860 km.
The cockpit is a two-seater, with the pilots seated side by side. The crew consists of a pilot and a gunner, who is responsible for controlling the weapons. A so-called glass cockpit with several large-format displays is used. In addition, pilots must use the Thales Scorpion helmet-mounted display system.
The main tool for illuminating the environment, searching for targets and aiming weapons is the Hanwha Systems TADS optical-electronic station. Its "ball" with optics is suspended from the nose of the fuselage.
A mobile gun mount with wide horizontal and vertical aiming angles is mounted under the nose of the fuselage. It houses a 20-mm M197 automatic cannon.
The fuselage sides are equipped with a small-span wing with suspension points for missile weapons. The LAH-1 can carry two blocks of 70-mm unguided rockets. It is also possible to use their corrected modification.
The helicopter's primary weapon is considered to be the Chungum/TAipers air-to-ground guided missiles from Hanwha. The LAH-1 can carry up to four of these missiles, two under each wing. The Chungum is a 1,8 m long, 35 kg solid-fuel missile with a range of 8 km. The missile is equipped with an infrared/TV guidance system and has a fiber-optic communication channel with the carrier. Depending on the conditions, it can fly under external control or operate in a "fire and forget" mode. The missile carries a cumulative warhead with a penetration of 1000 mm.
Pending Results
Thus, the ambitious South Korean project is gradually moving forward and yielding the desired results. Almost 10 years after the start of development, the LAH-1 helicopter has been brought to serial production, and soon the finished machines will be in combat units.
However, for now we are talking about only two new-type products, and KAI Corporation will have to continue working. Over the next 5-6 years, it will have to build at least 200 Miron helicopters and provide re-equipment for army aviation. Whether such tasks will be completed within the established deadlines, time will tell.
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