The aviation giant Korea Aerospace Industries Co. (KAI) announced that its newest Light Attack Helicopter (LAH) successfully completed its first flight at the company’s Sacheon production plant.
The country’s sole aircraft manufacturer KAI announced on July 4 in a statement that two pilots conducted a 20-minute-long test flight with the prototype of new helicopter, specifically being developed for the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA).
The Light Attack Helicopter mated with a 1,032-horsepower engine is the second Korean-made helicopter after the Surion (KUH-1) transport utility helicopter. The aircraft is smaller than the Surion in terms of size.
KAI began to develop the helicopter in June 2015 and unveiled its prototype in December last year. The company noted that LAH will be complete by November 2022, then it will be deployed Korea Army.
Korean Army intends to purchase up to 214 LAH helicopters starting 2022 to replace the aging MD500 Defender.
