Marine Corps Amphibious Attack Helicopter Successfully Completes Armament Operation Tests

First Demonstration of Air-to-Air Missile Launch Capability by a Domestic Helicopter

The domestically developed amphibious assault helicopter (MAH) for the Marine Corps has recently completed armed operation tests successfully. This marks the first time that an indigenous military helicopter has demonstrated the capability to fire air-to-air guided missiles.

According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) on May 26, the amphibious assault helicopter for the Marine Corps is equipped with a turret-type machine gun, air-to-surface guided missiles (Cheongeom), 70mm guided and unguided rockets, as well as air-to-air guided missiles. The helicopter has successfully completed all operational tests, including the recent live-fire test of air-to-air guided missiles. In particular, with the successful live-fire of air-to-air guided missiles, the amphibious assault helicopter has now secured aerial combat capability, enabling it to defend itself from aerial threats such as enemy attack helicopters and drones.

The amphibious assault helicopter is a model based on the domestically developed utility helicopter (KUH) "Surion," specifically the amphibious utility helicopter (MUH) "Marineon," with the avionics and weapon systems proven on the indigenous light armed helicopter (LAH) "Mireon" applied to it.

The main mission of the amphibious assault helicopter is to provide cover for the amphibious utility helicopters to ensure the survivability of the Marine Corps Airborne Assault Unit. It is equipped with advanced systems such as the Target Acquisition and Designation Sight (TADS), which enables day and night target acquisition and tracking, and an integrated helmet-mounted display (HMD).

The amphibious assault helicopter program began system development in October 2022 and successfully conducted its first test flight in December 2024. DAPA plans to complete system development by August this year and begin mass production starting next year.

Kim Kyungho, Director of the Helicopter Program Department at DAPA, said, "With the successful integration of machine guns, rockets, air-to-surface guided missiles, and now air-to-air guided missiles, we have secured the core operational capabilities of the amphibious assault helicopter's weapon systems. We will do our best to ensure the remaining development schedule proceeds smoothly so that timely force integration can be achieved."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.