54 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/JANUARY 15-FEBRUARY 1, 2015 AviationWeek.com/awstBradley Perrett SidneyEuropean manufacturers are lined
up for South Korea’s LCH-LAH
T
he U.S. may underwrite the security of South Korea,
but European manufacturers have put up the most per-
suasive ofers for the country’s next battlefield utility
helicopter and civil derivative.
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has shortlisted Airbus
Helicopters and AgustaWestland for the LCH-LAH (Light
Civil Helicopter and the Light Armed Helicopter) civil and
military rotorcraft program, for which production is planned
for at least 200 units for the army alone. KAI, the intended
prime contractor, may select between the two of them as
early as the first quarter of 2015, but the choice will need
approval from the defense ministry.
The candidate base designs are the Airbus EC155 B1 and
the AgustaWestland AW169. KAI has been in intensive ne-
gotiations with the two European companies, says a South
Korean industry ofcial, confirming their selection.
Sikorsky appears to have failed in offering the S-76—
though the U.S. company remains interested in the pro-
gram—while Bell, after suggesting it might bid, seems not to
have done so. KAI declines to confirm that Sikorsky was the
rejected third bidder. Airbus stands a chance of winning both
of Northeast Asia’s main utility helicopter programs, since it
also is bidding for the Japanese army’s UH-X requirement.
KAI is faced with a choice between the modernity and
probable economy of the AW169, which AgustaWestland is
still flight-testing, and the larger industrial and engineering
development opportunities of the EC155, which was certified
in 1998 and is based on the Dauphin of the 1970s.
Airbus is also better placed to give commercial aircraft
production work to KAI to ofset the value of the parts that
South Korea imports, not to mention its reported ofer to
cease building the EC155 in France. Although AgustaWest-
land parent Finmeccanica may be able to let a contract for
parts for the ATR 72 turboprop, KAI does not see much pro-
duction work in the AgustaWestland ofer, says an industry
ofcial.
The LCH-LAH program appears to be making slow prog-
ress, according to another industry official, who believesthat KAI is distracted by the much larger (and seemingly
interminable) proposal to build the KF-X indigenous fighter.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Motie) is
overseeing the export-oriented civil side of the program,
focusing on the business plan, while the defense ministry’s
acquisition ofce, the Defense Acquisition Program Agency
(DAPA), has control over the army’s version.
The army requires at least 200 helicopters of this type.
The government has specified a gross
weight of about 4.5 metric tons (10,000
lb.), though the EC155 weighs 4.9 tons.
Three foreign companies proposed
base designs for the technology develop-ment phase; KAI has now narrowed the
selection to AgustaWestland and Airbus.
Sikorsky still expresses interest, saying
LCH-LAH is an ambitious program “that
would benefit from the proven capabilities
of our S-76 helicopter platform.” Bell says
it is not participating. From the two U.S.
companies’ statements, it appears Bell was the one that de-
cided not to bid. It had considered proposing a new helicopter
using the drivetrain and rotor system of the Bell 430, which
is out of production.
South Korea has adopted peculiar bidding arrangements
for this program. KAI and Korean Airlines were required to
compete for the prime contract, ofering a price for devel-
opment, before receiving proposals from the foreign part-
ners—proposals that would afect the cost of development.
Only after it was selected as the preferred prime contractor
could KAI invite those proposals. Choosing the one that in-
volves the least development cost should now be in its inter-
est, but the choice also needs approval from DAPA, which,
conceivably, may prefer the more costly proposal.
The AW169 should be the least expensive, since, as a new
helicopter, it should need little or no improvement for its
civil version.
KAI plans to choose a foreign partner in the first half of
2015, says the South Korean industry ofcial, adding that
the company “is in technical negotiation with DAPA for the
LAH contract, while maintaining close communication with
Motie for the LCH agreement.” Airbus is expecting the final
selection to be made in the first quarter, says a spokeswoman
for that company, declining to comment further.
The European company is in the unusual position of having
two products to ofer for two quite similar requirements—
and to two customers that are next to each other geographi-
cally but do not get along well. While Airbus proposes the
EC155 to South Korea, it is urging Japan to choose the forth-
coming X4 helicopter for that country’s army UH-X program.
Proposing the more advanced product to Japan will rufe
feathers in South Korea, but Airbus should have several
strong reasons to ofer the EC155 to KAI and DAPA for that
decision: the X4 is probably much too big for the South Kore-
an requirement; it probably cannot be available in a military
version soon enough for the army’s demanding schedule; and
the EC155, unlike the X4, can be transferred to South Korea
for sole-source production. cROTORCRAFTShortlisted
In the LCH-LAH program, Airbus is
reportedly ofering to shift EC155
production to South Korea.AIRBUS HELICOPTERS