Bell offers South Korea production under license of AH-1Z Viper

The South Korean Marine Corps is seeking to acquire 24 naval attack helicopters, and Bell proposed to build the AH-1Z Viper locally, together with Korean Air.

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The official proposal was approached to South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) last Thursday.

The proposal involves collaboration and technology transfer to Korean Air for domestic production of the Viper under license, similar to that of the KF-16 multirole fighter, which is a licensed Korean version of the F-16 produced by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the country’s sole aircraft manufacturer.

See also: Korean Air to develop Korean Loyal Wingman drone

But, according to Korea JoongAng Daily, this is not the first time Bell has made a technology transfer offer to DAPA.

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According to sources consulted, DAPA essentially ignored two e-mails sent by Bell in October and November proposing domestic Viper production, apparently because the messages were not addressed to the head of the agency or the head of DAPA’s helicopter business division.

Bell’s third attempt to get DAPA’s attention represents a possible plot twist to the agency’s much-criticized decision last year to equip the Marine Corps with 24 Korean-designed attack helicopters.

The agency announced in April 2021 that it had selected KAI’s Marineon attack variant as the Marine Corps’ future attack helicopter. The deal is expected to cost 1.6 trillion won ($1.16 billion) and is part of a larger acquisition plan to create the Marine Corps’ first air wing, consisting of one squadron of attack helicopters and two squadrons of naval Surion transport utility helicopters (designatedMUH-1 Marineon).

A decision that does not satisfy

The decision to purchase the attack version of the Marineon instead of the Viper – the Marine Corps’ preferred candidate – drew criticism that KAI’s product does not measure up to Bell’s helicopter, falling behind in performance, agility and survivability.

Critics fear that the armed Marineon variant will fall short of other dedicated attack helicopters, so it appears that the original decision is being revisited, and serious consideration is going to be given to Bell’s proposal, such as the scope of technology transfers, maintenance and costs of the AH-1Z.