Yonhap reported that South Korea’s Marine Corps launched an plane group Wednesday to bolster the protection of border islands and wartime capabilities for touchdown operations. The launch ceremony passed off on the newly minted group in Pohang, 370 kilometers southeast of Seoul, with the attendance of high Korean and U.S. army officers, together with Marine Corps Commandant Lt. Gen. Kim Tae-sung and Lt. Gen. Steven R. Rudder, the commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific. The launch of the Marine Plane Group got here because the armed service had sought to safe a separate air unit after its earlier unit, shaped following the 1950-53 Korean Struggle, was included into the Navy in 1973.
The Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROKMC) has no plane of its personal, thus counting on aerial help from the Republic of Korea Military and Navy. On June 4, 2012, Ministry of Nationwide Protection confirmed a plan to distribute 32 amphibious cell helicopters to ROKMC. The ROKMC scheduled to activate an aviation group between 2017 and 2020 with 2 amphibious cell helicopter battalions and 1 assault helicopter battalion with Colonel in chief. In preparation for the group’s launch, the Marine Corps acquired two items of the MUH-1 Marineone, a variant of the KUH-1 Surion helicopter, in 2017, and plans to acquire a complete of 28 items by 2023.
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On the margins of the launch ceremony, the Marine Corps of South Korea and the US signed an settlement to hunt exchanges between their aviation items, sharing applied sciences whereas enhancing interoperability between the 2 militaries. The service plans to create an aviation brigade with transport and KAI Surion assault helicopters by 2015. To strengthen its intelligence-gathering and surveillance capabilities, the service is also contemplating deploying unmanned aerial autos for reconnaissance. It additionally seeks to safe assault helicopters later. The Marine Corps plans to coach pilots and upkeep employees members to make sure the graceful operation of the brand new unit.
The KAI KUH-1 Surion is a twin-engine, transport utility helicopter developed primarily by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), Company for Protection Growth (ADD) and Korea Aerospace Analysis Institute (KARI) collectively with Eurocopter. MUH-1 (Marine Utility Helicopter) Marineon is an amphibious variant for the Republic of Korea Marine Corps, it has a 96 p.c half commonality with the Surion. Modifications embody an built-in flotation system, auxiliary gas tank, and specialised radio tools. The Marine Surion additionally has a folding primary rotor to serve aboard Dokdo-class amphibious assault ships. In April 2021, KAI accredited a venture to develop an assault model of the Marineon.
