S. Korea cancels Apache expansion

[Anchor]

What you are seeing now is the U.S. large attack helicopter, the Apache.

Once regarded as the strongest helicopter on Earth, its effectiveness is now being questioned due to the power of drones, as confirmed in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The Ministry of National Defense's plan to introduce an additional 36 units has effectively been scrapped.

Reporter Song Geum-han reports.

[Report]

The South Korean military currently operates a total of 36 Apache attack helicopters.

Including 48 Apache helicopters from the U.S. Forces Korea, a total of 84 helicopters are deployed in the country.

Each helicopter can carry 16 anti-tank missiles for simultaneous strikes, but concerns have been raised about cost-effectiveness due to the hundreds of billions of won required for procurement and high maintenance costs.

In fact, there have been numerous instances recently in the Russia-Ukraine war where large attack helicopters were easily shot down by military drones.

In this context, the plan to introduce an additional 36 Apache helicopters has effectively fallen through.

The budget for the down payment, which was originally 10 billion won, has been reduced to 300 million won and passed by the National Assembly on the 4th.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff is reviewing alternative manned and unmanned composite system capabilities to replace the additional Apache helicopter procurement.

[Jeong Kyung-woon/Korea Research Institute for Strategy Senior Researcher: "I believe we should efficiently operate the Apache attack helicopters we currently possess while additionally introducing unmanned and manned forces, such as drones, to effectively prepare for modern warfare."]

Additionally, about 90 billion won in the defense budget has been cut in this supplementary budget, including the performance improvement project for the GOP surveillance system, special operations pistols, and mobile long-range radar procurement budgets.

The People Power Party criticized this move as an attempt to distribute cash while excluding security budgets that protect the lives and safety of the people, while the Democratic Party of Korea countered that it is merely unspent budget reflecting delays in testing, evaluation, or contracts.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration stated that it will execute projects that need to be continuously pursued without any setbacks.

This is KBS News, Song Geum-han.