KAI to supply firefighting helicopter to Gangwon Province

Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI) announced on Friday that it signed a 33 billion won ($24 million) contract with Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province to supply a KUH-1 Surion firefighting helicopter.

The contract includes one helicopter, spare parts, ground support equipment, and training for pilots and maintenance personnel, with delivery scheduled for 2027.

The Surion is gaining traction in the domestic firefighting helicopter market, previously dominated by foreign models.

It has been or will be supplied to various firefighting agencies, including Jeju Fire, Gyeongnam Fire, Central 119, Gyeongbuk Fire, and Gangwon Fire.

With this contract, a total of eight Surion-based firefighting helicopters will be in operation in South Korea.

The helicopter for Gangwon Fire will perform a range of missions such as emergency and rescue operations, firefighting, and transportation in the mountainous region of Gangwon Province.

It is equipped with all-weather instrument flight and navigation systems, a search and rescue direction finder providing emergency signal location information, onboard oxygen supply systems, and defibrillators, making it highly specialized for disaster rescue activities.

The water tank capacity has been increased from 2,000 liters to over 2,500 liters, enhancing its capabilities for large-scale firefighting and wildfire suppression.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com