The South Korean aircraft corporation Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) announced that at its headquarters in Sacheon on December 26, 2024, it officially handed over to the South Korean armed forces the first two production models of its light (actually medium) combat helicopter LAH (Light Armed Helicopter), which received the military designation LAH-1 Miron.
One of the two first mass-produced KAI LAH-1 Miron (c) light combat helicopters delivered to the South Korean Armed Forces by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)
The helicopters were built under a contract issued to KAI by the South Korean government's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) on December 23, 2022, worth 302 billion won ($235 million) to supply the South Korean army with the first 10 production LAH helicopters, with deliveries starting in December 2024. In December 2023, DAPA signed another contract with KAI worth 1.4 trillion won ($1.08 billion) for the supply of a second batch of an undisclosed number of LAH helicopters for the South Korean army. Under the terms of the agreement, KAI will begin supplying helicopters of this batch in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The LAH helicopter was created in accordance with the requirements of the South Korean army aviation formulated in 2010, providing for the purchase of medium-sized helicopters armed with ATGM to replace the existing fleet of Hughes MD 500MD Defender and Bell AH-1S Cobra helicopters. In total, the South Korean army aviation now intends to receive 214 LAH-1 helicopters by 2031, for which 5.75 trillion won (up to $4 billion) was provisionally approved by DAPA in November 2022.
On June 25, 2015, KAI Corporation received contracts from DAPA and the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT) to create a medium ("light") 5-ton weight class helicopter in two versions, respectively, the military Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) and the commercial Light Civil Helicopter (LCH). The contract with DAPA provided for financing from its side the development of the LAH helicopter in the amount of 650 billion won (about 587 million dollars at the then exchange rate), and the contract with KEIT provided for financing the development of the LCH in the amount of 350 billion won (about 316 million dollars).
The helicopter was created by KAI in partnership with the European Airbus Helicopters association based on the well-known medium helicopter Airbus Helicopters H155 (former EC155, development of the Aerospatiale AS 365 Dauphin II helicopter). The agreement on the joint development of the helicopter was signed by KAI and Airbus Helicopters on March 16, 2015, and in fact implied the full transfer of the H155 helicopter production program to South Korea. The total cost of the LCH/LAH R&D program is estimated at 1.6 trillion won ($1.444 billion), of which, in addition to the above-mentioned financing of 1 trillion won from South Korean government agencies, another 400 billion won was invested by Airbus Helicopters, and 200 billion won by KAI itself.
The first prototype of the LAH helicopter was built at the KAI enterprise in Sacheon, its rollout and presentation took place there on December 18, 2018, and the first flight took place on July 4, 2019. The second prototype made its maiden flight on December 10, 2019, and the third in 2020. In August 2023, Airbus Helicopters and KAI signed an agreement to begin mass production of the LAH.
The official military index LAH-1 and the name Miron were assigned to the LAH helicopter on October 4, 2024. The name means "Dragon-100", representing a combination of the South Korean words "world" ("dragon") and "he" (the number 100).
The LAN helicopter has a maximum take-off weight, apparently up to 5,500 kg (officially lower figures are given) and is equipped with two Safran (Turbomeca) Arriel 2L2 turboshaft engines with a maximum capacity of 1024 hp each, and the civilian version of the LCH is powered by Arriel 2C2 engines. The development of these engine modifications was carried out with the participation of the South Korean Hanwha group, which should localize their production. However, apparently, the first batches of helicopters are equipped with fully French-made engines.
The main armament of LAH should be the long-range (up to 8 km) ATGM Chungum (TAipers) developed by the Hanwha group, which has a combined thermal imaging and television guidance system combined with fiber-optic cable control, which allows for both "shot and forget" mode and command guidance. The completion of testing of the Chungum rocket and the start of its mass production was announced in 2023. The LAH helicopter should carry four such ATGMs or two seven-shot launchers for 70-mm guided missiles with a laser semi-active guidance system. The LAH helicopter is also equipped with a built-in turret with a 20 mm triple-barreled M197 cannon. The helicopter has a Hanwha Systems TADS electro-optical round-the-clock system, Thales Scorpion helmet-mounted sights and an advanced onboard defense system, including Hanwha and Hensoldt AN/AAR-60 MILD detection systems and a BAE Systems AN/ALE-47 jamming system.
In September 2022, KAI announced the development of a multi-purpose military version of the LAH, designated as the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), with airborne troops in the cockpit, and designed primarily to support the actions of special forces.
The first prototype of the LCH commercial helicopter was built entirely at the Airbus Helicopters plant in Marignane (France), representing, apparently, actually a modification of the H155, and began flight tests there on July 24, 2018 (it had the French registration F-WWOH). The second prototype of the LCH was built in Sacheon and made its maiden flight there on December 5, 2019. Although the LCH received a South Korean type certificate in 2022, however, so far it is known about the manufacture of only one serial model of the LCH, commissioned on December 1, 2022 as a medical device on Jeju Island.
The first two mass-produced KAI LAH-1 Miron (c) light combat helicopters delivered to the South Korean Armed Forces by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)
