In this photo released by the Army, an Apache attack helicopter launches a Hellfire air-to-surface missile toward the Jik Islet bombing range off Gunsan on South Korea’s western coast on Nov. 13, as the South Korean Army carries out its first live-fire exercise involving the firing of Hellfire air-to-surface missiles in a bid to beef up its capability to fight in the air. (Yonhap)
The deployment of the Apache helicopters is supposed to be complete by October this year:
U.S. Forces Korea will deploy 24 Apache helicopters to South Korea as the allied forces face a growing threat from the North.
But the battalion will be temporarily split between two bases because a new parking apron hasn’t been completed, the military said Monday.
The scheduled rotational deployment of the AH-64D attack helicopters next month will replace 30 OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters, which are being retired.
Sixteen of the Apaches will be temporarily stationed at Suwon Air Base until a new parking apron is completed at Camp Humphreys, which will eventually house the bulk of U.S. forces as part of a long-delayed relocation from Seoul and bases to the north. The other eight will be at Camp Humphreys, according to the USFK public affairs office. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link.
Army appoints first female helicopter pilot instructor https://t.co/jYSkD3k9vu
— Yonhap News Agency (@YonhapNews) December 4, 2016
Participants pay condolences to three soldiers, who were killed in a recent helicopter crash, at their funeral in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on Oct. 2, 2016. The crash occurred off the country’s east coast during joint drills with the United States on Sept. 26. (Yonhap)
Condolences to all the friends and family members impacted by this training accident:
South Korea’s Navy said Tuesday that it had found the body of one of three crew members who were aboard a chopper that crashed into the sea off the country’s east coast a day earlier.
At around 6 p.m., the Navy found the body some 1,030 meters under the sea during its search operation that used a remotely operated underwater vehicle.
The body was confirmed to be the Lynx antisubmarine helicopter’s main pilot, identified only by his surname Kim. Along with Kim, a secondary pilot and a naval non-commissioned officer were aboard the crashed aircraft.
“Lieutenant Kim’s body was found just outside the helicopter, and we are trying now to find the rest of the missing crew,” a Navy official said, declining to be named.
The Navy also said it retrieved parts of the helicopter.
The helicopter sent out a distress signal and disappeared from radar eight minutes after it took off from an Aegis destroyer at 8:57 p.m. for a joint military drill between the South Korean and U.S. navies, a spokesman said in a briefing. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link.
Hopefully everyone recovers from their injuries with no serious issues:
Two Apache helicopters collided Friday at Camp Humphreys, injuring four U.S. soldiers, a spokesman said.
The AH-64 helicopters were getting ready to take off when the collision occurred at the base south of Seoul, said Lt. Col. Richard Hyde, the 2nd Infantry Division spokesman.
The four soldiers were taken to nearby hospitals with minor injuries, but all have been released, he said Sunday.
The military did not give a cause, saying an investigation is under way. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link.
This photo released by the Defense Acquisition Procurement Administration (DAPA) on May 26, 2016, shows an AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopter parked on the tarmac at an undisclosed Army base on May 26, 2016. The DAPA delivered four AH-64Es to the South Korean Army, the first batch of 36 AH-64Es it plans to introduce in a US$1.6 billion deal. (Yonhap)
Hopefully this doesn’t turn out to be a major safety issue with the ROK militaries Surion helicopters:
The South Korean military opened an investigation into the indigenously developed military helicopter Surion after some of the fleet had cracked windshields and other cracking problems, the defense procurement agency said Monday.
“Some of the (locally operational) 40 or so Surions have shown problems on their airframes,” Kim Si-cheol, spokesman at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), said in a press briefing earlier in the day.
Currently, the DAPA is consulting the chopper’s producer, Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. and other defense procurement bodies on how to resolve the issue, Kim said.
According to DAPA officials, the investigation has shown so far that four Surion choppers had cracks developed in the vibration absorption devices in the left part of their airframes and some other choppers had cracked windshields. [Korea Herald]
You can read more at the link.
This is actually pretty applicable training these helicopter crews are doing that could be used not only in wartime, but during disaster response missions as well:
If war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, it could be waged in and around thousands of high-rise apartment blocks that fill valleys south of the Demilitarized Zone.
Aware of the challenging environment, the Army has acquired its own high-rise facility at Rodriguez Live Fire Range — a training area near the DMZ — where troops can hone their urban combat skills.
Medics participating in Foal Eagle exercises, underway this month in South Korea, gathered on the roof of the seven-story building Wednesday to learn how to hoist casualties onto a hovering Black Hawk helicopter.
Buffeted by wind from the aircraft’s rotors, the medics took turns strapping into a yellow “jungle penetrator” — a heavy device designed to be dropped through jungle canopy to troops on the ground — and riding the hoist up to the Black Hawk and back down to the roof. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read the rest at the link.
Condolences to the friends and families of these ROK soldiers killed in this helicopter crash. Judging by the below picture it looks like it crashed right outside the wall of the military base:
A South Korean military helicopter crashed in an eastern province on Monday, killing three of the four soldiers on board, officials said.
The helicopter went down in a farming field in the city of Chuncheon in the eastern province of Gangwon during a checkout flight, defense and army officials said.
The officials said that all four soldiers aboard the helicopter were initially rescued after the crash, but that three of them died while being treated in hospitals.
They said no casualties on the ground have been reported. The cause of the crash is under investigation. [Washington Post via a reader tip]
You can read more at the link.
