South Korea Completes Development of Marine Attack Helicopter Built to Escort Amphibious Assaults

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration completed development of the Marine Attack Helicopter, an armed derivative of KAI’s MUH-1 Marineon, on October 28. The aircraft is designed to escort amphibious assault helicopters and provide fire support for Marine Corps landing forces, with series production scheduled to begin in 2027. Its weapons include a 20 mm chin gun, 70 mm rockets, Mistral air-to-air missiles and Cheongeom anti-tank missiles. Development testing covered weapons firing, shipboard operations and environmental performance, including corrosion resistance, establishing development completion rather than confirmation that an operational Marine Corps attack-helicopter unit has already formed.