Exclusive Key test skipped on Surion project

Utility choppers lack reliable low-temperature battlefield ability

By Lee Tae-hoon

The military will deploy Surion utility helicopters, the nation’s first locally developed rotary-wing aircraft, without fully evaluating the effect of low temperature conditions on its performance, officials of the state-run arms procurement agency said Friday.

The move, however, may face a backlash as some evaluators of the test insist that the high-end chopper should pass a flying test at a temperature of minus 32 degrees centigrade before being mass produced.

Park Won-dong, head of the Korean Helicopter Program (KHP), also acknowledged that an evaluation team for the program is threatening to quit the program as they think the Surion should prove itself being able to endure extreme temperatures before being deployed to the military.

However, Park argued that such a low temperature flying test was unnecessary as it was unlikely that the armed forces would use the helicopter in extreme weather conditions even if they had a military operation in North Korea.

“The evaluators want the Surion to meet all the requirements set by the Pentagon,” he said. “But Korean armed forces won’t be operating in Alaska or other cold regions.”

An official of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said the Surion failed to pass a non-flying indoor test performed at minus 32 degrees in 2010 and 2011, but managed to pass the last one in April 2012.

“To my knowledge, the requested operational capability set by the military does not include low temperature flying tests,” Park said. “Since the Surion managed to pass the low temperature chamber test this year, DAPA is confident that the project will proceed without a hitch.”

The spokesman said that DAPA will carry out flying tests in 2012 overseas for the promotion of exports and to meet all international standards.

Other DAPA officials agreed, saying the agency decided to skip the test because this would only be necessary for exports.

However, a senior official argued that the procurement agency has been reluctant to do the field test due to fears that the Surion would fail it.

DAPA plans to finish its evaluation of the helicopter by June _ the delivery of the initial production model is expected to be in September this year.

The Surion was developed with a budget of 1.3 trillion won by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) with technical assistance from Eurocopter since June 2006. KAI has sealed a 650 billion won deal for the delivery of the initial production to the military.

DAPA forecasts that the locally developed chopper will replace about 300 of 1,000 transport helicopters globally over the next 25 years.

The Surion features a variety of state-of-the-art technology including a four-axis digital automatic flight-control system, a cockpit with multifunctional liquid crystal displays and an engine health and usage monitoring system.

Survivability gear includes laser warning receivers, a missile warning system, chaff and flare dispensers, an electronic warfare unit and infrared countermeasures.

The helicopter has a top speed of 260 kilometers per hour and has an operational range of 450 kilometers.

It can carry two pilots and up to 16 people and stay in the air for over two hours.