The South Korean military has officially begun searching for a new model to replace the UH-60 Black Hawk, which is currently being used as a main helicopter.
According to the military on July 5, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff recently approved a requirement decision acknowledging the South Korean military’s need for a next-generation high-speed medium utility helicopter. The next-generation high-speed medium utility helicopter is expected to be deployed in the military in the late 2030s if the project proceeds smoothly after preliminary research and a pre-feasibility study by the Korea Defense Research Institute (KIDA).
The new helicopter is expected to replace the Black Hawk helicopters. About 110 are currently being operated by the South Korean Army Aviation Command.
Since its first production in 1974, the Black Hawk has been used by more than 2,500 units worldwide. This includes the U.S. and South Korean militaries for 50 years. The model has become the standard for medium utility helicopters with the emergence of various derivative types. Whether the South Korean military will completely create a new helicopter through system development or introduce it through acquisition purchases from local and foreign companies has not yet been decided. However, the introduction method is expected to be influenced by the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) project, which the U.S. military is currently undertaking to replace the Black Hawk.
Co-developed by Lockheed Martin and Bell, the V-280 Valor has been selected as the FLRAA project model with the expected delivery to start in the 2030s.
The biggest feature of the V-280 is the use of the tiltrotor, a completely different flight method from existing helicopters. While conventional helicopters have a large main rotor on the body and a vertical tail rotor, the V-280 has large rotors that can change angles at the ends of both wings.
The tiltrotor can move vertically like a normal helicopter by standing on the rotor axis at 90 degrees during take-off and landing. It can also move at high speed like a normal aircraft by changing it horizontally during flight. Therefore, the maximum speed of the V-280 is 351 miles per hour, significantly faster than the Black Hawk, which is around 186 miles per hour.
A military official said, “Considering the development trend of mobile helicopters in advanced military countries, we need a next-generation high-speed medium-sized mobile helicopter that not only has basic performance such as speed and operational radius but is also capable of improving operational performance and multi-domain operations,” adding, “Performance needs to be significantly improved compared to the current one.”