Government holds 178th defense acquisition committee meeting, approves two major programs; VTOL drone project to receive 2.16 trillion won, maritime helicopter program 3.24 trillion won

An aviation crew member directs an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. [AP]
An aviation crew member directs an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. [AP]

South Korea is reviving a program to develop a vertical takeoff and landing reconnaissance drone capable of operating in mountainous terrain, while the Lockheed Martin MH-60R Seahawk has been confirmed as the replacement for the Navy's aging Lynx maritime helicopters.

The government convened the 178th Defense Acquisition Program Committee meeting Tuesday and approved a revised basic strategy for the VTOL reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle program.

The VTOL reconnaissance drone program, running from 2027 to 2036, will invest approximately 2.16 trillion won ($1.61 billion) to develop a new drone that overcomes the takeoff and landing limitations of existing fixed-wing divisional reconnaissance UAVs.

The goal is to acquire drones capable of taking off and landing without a runway, improving operational effectiveness in the mountainous terrain where most divisional operations take place.

The revised plan calls for reconfirming which airframe configurations can be developed domestically. DAPA identified three applicable designs: a rotary-wing type, a vectored-thrust type — covering tilt-rotor and tilt-prop variants — and a lift-and-cruise type, which is a fixed-wing VTOL configuration.

DAPA then conducted preliminary research with prospective industry participants to verify whether each configuration could technically be realized.

However, the final airframe configuration has not yet been determined, and ground control equipment and ground relay equipment will be developed separately.

DAPA expects that once the drone enters service, its operational radius will increase by more than 30 percent and surveillance performance will improve more than fourfold compared with existing divisional reconnaissance UAVs. The agency plans to complete a feasibility re-examination and a basic system development plan by the first half of 2027.

The committee also approved the aircraft selection for the Maritime Operation Helicopter II program.

The Maritime Operation Helicopter II program, running from 2025 to 2032, will spend approximately 3.24 trillion won to replace the aging Lynx helicopters aboard destroyers and frigates. Based on procurement test evaluations and negotiations results, the committee selected the Lockheed Martin MH-60R as the final choice.

A DAPA official said that because the program proceeds exclusively through foreign military sales, the aircraft selection had effectively been all but decided from the outset.

The MH-60R passed its procurement test evaluation with a combat-ready rating, and price and technology negotiations have been concluded. DAPA plans to sign a letter of offer and acceptance with the US government this month.

The MH-60R is a maritime operations helicopter measuring 19.76 meters in length, 4.47 meters in width and 5.18 meters in height, with a maximum takeoff weight of approximately 10.2 tons. It is equipped with mission systems including a multimode radar, a low-frequency dipping sonar, sonobuoys and electro-optical equipment, and can carry guided missiles, torpedoes and machine guns.

DAPA said that once the aircraft enters service, it will deliver improved anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capabilities over the aging Lynx — including greater endurance, enhanced weapons operation and superior underwater and surface target detection.


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