(News Focus) S. Korea's planned development of light attack choppers triggers disputes

SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government made official Thursday its
planned development of indigenous light attack helicopters to replace its current
fleet of aging and foreign-made choppers, a decision that will likely trigger
disputes on the cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency of its army.
Since the year 2000, the Korean Army has been seeking to enact the Korea Attack
Helicopter (KAH) plan, aimed at replacing the aging 500MD TOWs and AH-1Ss
possibly with locally-produced weapons by 2020. The two chopper models have been
in operation for at least 15 years, some already reaching their lifespan.
Under the government decision, South Korea will be producing more than 200
homemade light attack choppers while purchasing dozens of foreign heavy attack
helicopters under the AH-X initiative. The AH-X plan refers to the South Korean
defense ministry's initiative to replace army helicopters with high-powered heavy
choppers from overseas, spending about 2.5 trillion won, or US$2.2 billion.
While officials at the army and the weapons procurement agency claim operating
both AH-X heavy- and KAH light-weight helicopters will help enhance operational
effectiveness of the army, critics accuse the defense ministry of choosing "an
easy way out" by choosing to develop light-weight helicopters and importing heavy
ones instead of producing its own heavy helicopters instead of overseas purchase.

It is possible -- and meaningful -- for South Korea to develop and produce its
own heavy attack choppers, even if this can only be done with technical
assistance from foreign manufacturers, critics say.
"The whole idea of this trillions of won worth-project is for the country to gain
the capacity to make its own heavy attack helicopters," a local weapons expert
said, requesting not to be named. "But purchasing foreign choppers blurs out the
whole point of this plan."
"I am also doubtful whether our defense budget is enough to proceed with both the
KAH and the AH-X plans," he added.
Kim Young-san, spokesman of Seoul's Defense Acquisition Program Administration,
said decision was made upon the consideration of "what is best for the national
budget and the (domestic) aero industry."
The costly plan has already faced several setbacks over the past decade due to
the tight defense budget as well as conflicting views on detailed operational
requirements.
The government is looking into developing attack helicopters weighing about
10,000 pounds (4,500kg), Kim added. Light attack helicopters refer to those
weighing 12,500 pounds or less.
Under the government's aero industry development plan unveiled Thursday, a total
of 600 billion won will be spent on the KAH initiative to produce light attack
helicopters by 2018 and another 5 trillion won on developing domestic fighter
jets under the air force's Korea Fighter eXperimental (KFX) plan.
A two-year exploratory development of the KAH will begin next year, with a budget
of about 1.9 billion won, under the administrative decision. An exploratory
development refers to a preliminary research to determine the efficiency and
technical capacity of the plan.
Critics of the decision are also accusing the government of giving up on
development of heavy-weight choppers so that it is able to import the refurbished
Apache Longbow heavy helicopters from the United States, a model the U.S. has
been trying to sell to South Korea for years.
"Maintaining and operating the old Apache choppers may cost more than three times
its purchasing price. I really hope these suspicions will turn out false," Rep.
Lee Jin-sam of the minority Liberty Forward Party told a parliamentary
questioning of the army last October.
The KAH and the KFX plans have been drawing keen attention from in and out of
South Korea, which is one of the largest arms buyers in the world. Seoul
purchased $800 million worth of U.S. arms on a foreign military sales basis in
2008, according to the most recent data by the U.S. Congressional Research
Service.
Defense spending is a key area of interest for South Korea that has 655,000
troops facing the 1.2-million-strong army of North Korea, which is technically
still at war with the South as their 1950-53 war ended in a truce.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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