The South Korean defense company Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has signed a contract with the Iraqi government for the delivery of two domestically produced KUH-1 Surion helicopters. The contract is valued at 136 billion South Korean won, equivalent to 92 million dollars, with the helicopters scheduled for delivery by March 2029.
The conclusion of this agreement has been reported by Yonhap agency, and it's important to highlight two aspects – this marks South Korea's first export of its helicopters, and additionally, these machines are based on technologies acquired from Europe.
Specifically, the development of the KUH-1 Surion began in the summer of 2006 following a tender won by Eurocopter (this fact may help explain why the South Korean KUH-1 Surion bears some visual resemblance to the NH90). It is noted that the cost of this tender was equivalent to 1.7 billion dollars at 2017 prices.
There is also mention that specialists from Eurocopter assisted KAI in the development of the power transmission system, main gearbox, automatic flight control system, and several other components.
The first flight of the South Korean KUH-1 Surion took place in March 2010. As of early 2024, according to The Military Balance 2024, the Army Aviation of the South Korean Army had approximately 200 KUH-1 Surion helicopters, with an additional 27 of these helicopters in an amphibious variant for the Marine Corps aviation of the ROK Navy.
Basic specifications of the KUH-1 Surion:
- fuselage length - 19 meters;
- maximum takeoff weight and payload capacity - 8.7 tons and up to 2.7 tons respectively;
- crew and troop capacity - two and nine persons respectively;
- maximum flight speed - up to 283 km/h;
- maximum flight range (with additional fuel tank) - 828 kilometers.
When analyzing the contract for the delivery of these helicopters to Iraq, the situation appears somewhat peculiar.
For instance, at the beginning of this year, the Iraqi aviation had around a hundred helicopters of various types, both Russian and Western-made (not counting the Russian-made machines that are in storage due to malfunction), and against this backdrop, the delivery of just two KUH-1 Surion helicopters is, so to speak, "not a game changer." Moreover, Iraq will have to wait nearly five years for these helicopters, and a separate infrastructure will need to be developed for their maintenance.
However, it is quite possible that in this case, the first export delivery of the KUH-1 Surion will serve as a "bonus" to the order for South Korean K-SAM, which Iraq intends to procure instead of the Russian S-400.
Furthermore, South Korea has several examples of "package" sales of equipment and weapons for export, and a recent illustration of this can be Peru, which is acquiring not only K2 tanks but even submarines as well.