A performance improvement project to build a digital cockpit and enhance survivability for the Korean military's Black Hawk (UH/HH-60) utility helicopters is moving into full swing.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said on the 10th that it held a kickoff meeting for the system development of the UH/HH-60 helicopter performance improvement project on the 9th at the Korean Air Tech Center in Busan.
Attendees included the DAPA, Korean Air as the lead research and development institution, the Army, the Air Force, and the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality (DTaQ), who shared the overall project plan and discussed system development plans by sector and coordination measures. The Black Hawk is a special operations helicopter operated by the Army (UH-60) and the Air Force (HH-60). Introduced domestically since the 1990s, it performs a variety of missions including troop transport, special operations, and medical evacuation.
A total of 994.3 billion won will be invested in this performance improvement project. The analog cockpit of existing helicopters will be replaced with a "digital cockpit" equipped with an electronic map and multi-function displays, and new survivability, navigation, and communications equipment will be installed. The project covers about 30 aircraft. The goal is operational deployment starting in 2029.
Once the upgrades are complete, the digital cockpit, along with an automatic hover system and an obstacle warning system, will significantly reduce pilot workload, and various survivability systems will enhance survivability in special operations. In particular, through domestic research and development, more than 50 components can be localized, which will also contribute to improving technological capabilities in the aviation sector and establishing a stable logistics support system, the DAPA said.
Ko Hyung-seok, head of the DAPA helicopter program division, said, "Through the UH/HH-60 performance improvement project, we will significantly enhance our military's aerial infiltration and search-and-rescue capabilities and respond proactively to changing battlefield conditions."