KAI KUH-1 Surion

KUH-1 Surion
Korean Utility Helicopter KUH-1 Surion
Role	Medium transport helicopter
National origin	Republic of Korea
Manufacturer	Korea Aerospace Industries
Designer	Korea Aerospace Industries (with technical assistance from Eurocopter)
First flight	10 March 2010
Introduction	22 May 2013
Status	In service
Primary users	Republic of Korea Army National Police Agency
Produced	2010-present
Number built	69
Unit cost	₩18.5 billion US$ 18 million (2013)
Developed from	Eurocopter EC725

External video

KUH-1 Surion performing an aerobatic display

News report in 2013 on the introduction of the Surion

Promotional video of the Surion

The KAI KUH-1 Surion is a twin-engine, transport utility helicopter developed primarily by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) jointly with Eurocopter. In 2006, the research and development phase of the Korea Helicopter Project - Korea Utility Helicopter (KHP-KUH), costing around 1.3 trillion won ($1.2 billion), was launched by the Agency for Defense Development. In 2012, full-scale production of the Surion commenced; KAI has been designated as the principal manufacturer of the type.

An initial force of around 245 Surions have been ordered by the Republic of Korea Army to replace their aging fleets of UH-1H utility helicopters and 500MD light utility helicopters, which have been in service for decades. KAI shall also construct civilian and law enforcement variants of the helicopter.

In December 2005, the South Korean government appointed Eurocopter as the primary partner to KAI for the then-formative Korea Helicopter Project - Korea Utility Helicopter (KHP-KUH). In June 2006, KAI and Eurocopter won the KHP-KUH 1.3 trillion-won ($1.2 billion) research and development contract from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) to start the project. It remains Seoul's biggest arms deal ever with a non-US company. The development of the aircraft was funded 84% by the South Korean government and 16% by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Eurocopter. At the time, it was the biggest South Korean defense contract to be issued to a non-American defense company.

A production contract worth about 4.4 trillion won ($4.3 billion) is expected to be signed around 2011 before the start of mass production. Eurocopter took a stake of 30 percent in the 2006-2012 development phase and 20 percent in the following ten-year production phase, KAI and the South Korean government held the remaining stakes in the program. As the prime sub-contractor, Eurocopter has provided technical assistance in part for developing the power transmission, main gearbox, boom and tail gearboxes, automatic flight control system and rotor mast. Eurocopter experts were dispatched to KAI premises (Sacheon, South Korea) to provide support and teach KAI engineers state of the art processes and technologies for the design and manufacture of helicopters.