Korean Air and Boeing agree to develop unmanned MD 500 helicopter

By Park Sae-jin Posted : September 22, 2016, 16:04 Updated : September 22, 2016, 16:04

[Yonhap News Photo]


South Korea's largest airline company, Korean Air, said Thursday it has forged a new deal with its US partner, Boeing, to jointly develop an unmanned variant of the US-made MD 500 light attack helicopter for global sales.

Korean Air said that under the deal,  Boeing would  provide technology, test-flight support and joint marketing.

At an International aerospace and defense exhibition in Seoul last year, Korean Air showcased the full-sized mockup of an unnamed MD 500 helicopter armed with two Hellfire air-to-surface missiles and a pod of 2.75 inch-diameter rockets.

The MD 500 was developed in 1963 by Hughes Aircraft and McDonnell Douglas. Between 1976 and 1988, Korean Air assembled and supplied scores of MD 500 helicopters for military use in South Korea.

South Korea's defense ministry has been replacing an old fleet of MD 500 helicopters with the Surion developed by Korea Aerospace Industries.

Boeing and Koren Air have converted an unspecified number of MD 500 helicopters into unmanned aircraft that could be used for high-risk missions such as reconnaissance along the heavily armed border with North Korea.

Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com

 
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