
KAI's Marine Attack Helicopter is an armed derivative of the company's MUH-1 Marineon helicopter that is in service with the Republic of Korea Marine Corps. (Janes)
South Korea's domestically developed Marine Attack Helicopter (MAH) completed its first flight test in December 2024, the country's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on 15 January.
The MAH is an armed version of the Korea Aerospace Industries' (KAI's) MUH-1 Marineon helicopter, which itself is a derivative of the KUH-1 Surion helicopter that was developed by the Republic of Korea Marine Corps (RoKMC). DAPA awarded KAI a KRW438.40 billion (USD300 million) contract in October 2022 to develop the variant.
The production of the first three MAH prototypes was completed in 2024, DAPA said, adding that ground testing began in October. This was followed by the first flight test on 17 December, KAI said.
During the test, the MAH demonstrated its flight control performance and stability through a celebratory flight lasting approximately 20 minutes. This included “taxiing, taking off, and performing hovering, circling, forward/backward/left/right flights, S-shaped circling flights, and maximum horizontal flight at an altitude of approximately 30 m,” KAI said.
DAPA has said that from 2025, “full-scale test and evaluation, mainly flight tests, will be conducted, and development will be completed in the second half of 2026”.
According to the agency, the MAH's primary role will be to cover RoKMC Marineon helicopters during attacks on enemy territory and provide fire support for ground units. The helicopter's armaments are based on weaponry already integrated with the Light Armed Helicopter Miron (LAH-1), the agency said.
The MAH is also capable of being armed with air-to-air missiles. This is “the first time that a domestically developed helicopter has an air-to-air missile capability”, DAPA said.
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