Airbus Helicopters was selected to join with Korea Aerospace Industries in developing two 5-ton class rotorcraft that will meet South Korea’s requirements for its next-generation Light Civil Helicopter (LCH) and Light Armed Helicopter (LAH), Airbus said on Monday.
The LCH and LAH are to be based on the Airbus Helicopters’ H155 (formerly the EC155), the latest aircraft in the Dauphin family. The Dauphin family includes the Panther military and parapublic variants.
The Airbus commitment will include the company transferring its technical know-how to ensure South Korea is able to develop its newest indigenous products, the company said.
Image: Airbus Helicopters.
“The LCH and LAH programs will build on our collaboration with Korea Aerospace Industries on the Surion, which has become a reference in successful rotorcraft collaboration. By continuing our relationship, we will significantly reduce the risks of these two new development programs, while meeting all of the mission requirements,” Guillaume Faury, president of Airbus Helicopters, said in a statement.
The H155 contains the same digital four-axis autopilot that South Korea pilots have used in the Surion. It has highly accurate settings for altitude, speed, and heading while ensuring hover performance in extreme conditions, Airbus said.
The LCH version is expected to enter service in 2020 while the LAH is targeted for 2022, the company said.
“Not only do we have a strong partnership with Korea Aerospace Industries, we have also a proven track record of continued civil and military developments on which the two partners will capitalize for these two programs,” Norbert Ducrot, Airbus Helicopters’ head of North Asia division, said.
The Dauphin family rotorcraft have been delivered to over 60 customers. Over 1,000 of the helicopters have logged almost 5 million flight hours in service.
“We would like to express our deep gratitude to Korea Aerospace Industries and the South Korean government for entrusting us with this major helicopter program. We are committing our full support in ensuring the LCH and LAH projects will be completed on time, on cost and to specification,” Faury said.