Huge industrial ramifications are expected while laying a foundation for Korea to take off as an advanced aerospace powerhouse

The President today attended a roll-out ceremony for a prototype model of the first Korean-made helicopter “Surion.” Presiding over the ceremony held at the headquarters of the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, Gyeongsangnam-do (province), the President offered words of encouragement to the officials and workers who have endeavored to develop the helicopter.

Also on hand at the congratulatory ceremony were about 900 guests, including government officials from the Ministry of National Defense and other agencies, business leaders from domestic and international enterprises and foreign diplomatic missions.

At the ceremony, the first Korean Utility Helicopter (KUH) was named “Surion,” a combination of two Korean words “suri” representing an eagle and “on” meaning one hundred. The name reflects the hope that the helicopter will be able to carry out its operational missions perfectly and safely like a brave, agile eagle to safeguard the homeland and that Korea’s aviation industry will make further progress in the future.

The Korean Government has injected approximately 1.3 trillion won (about US$1 billion) into the KUH project in a bid to replace the aging aircraft currently operated by the Korean Armed Forces, such as the Hughes 500 MD, as well as to develop unique technology to manufacture homegrown helicopter models in the future. The project was launched in June 2006 and has come up with the first prototype after about three years. The development of the helicopter is expected to be completed by June 2012 after a variety of flight tests.

Today’s rollout indicates that Korea has become the 11th country in the world to own helicopter manufacturing technologies. Above all, the overriding significance of the rollout lies in the fact that domestic engineers took the lead in the whole process of drawing up a design for the helicopter and assembling it as well as conducting tests and evaluation.

The KUH was designed to carry out military operations taking account of the geographic features of the Korean Peninsula. In addition, both potential exports and the entry into the civilian market were taken into consideration from the initial stages of development. Accordingly, the project has been conducive to bolstering the foundation for the development of military helicopters and the civilian industry, thereby being identified as an exemplary case of military-civilian collaboration.

The focus on exports and the international certification required for the entry into the civilian market at the outset made it possible to satisfy 96 percent, or 2,363 of 2,460 international operational standards for civilian helicopters, even though it is primarily a military helicopter. Eurocopter, the project partner of the KAI, foresees that about 300 units of Surion will be shipped overseas under joint marketing between the two organizations. That figure is tantamount to about a 30 percent market share for the same types of aircraft. The number of such units required in the market is expected to reach approximately 1,000 over the 25 years to come.

In his congratulatory remarks, President Lee complimented the efforts of developers who had pulled off a remarkable achievement over an unprecedented period of only three years. In addition, President Lee emphasized that the Republic has to establish itself as a front-runner in the aviation industry of the 21st century, both in name and substance, building on the successful development of the homegrown helicopter.