KAI wins W1.05tr helicopter deal from Korean arms agency

Korea Aerospace Industries Co. (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft manufacturer, said Monday it has won a 1.05 trillion-won ($958 million) helicopter deal from the state defense procurement agency.

Under the deal with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), KAI will supply the Surion (KUH-1) transport utility helicopter to the Army by 2024, the company said in a statement.

On the same day, KAI also signed a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) contract worth 112 billion won with DAPA for the Surion helicopter and its 1,207 components, it said.

KAI has exported a total of 148 trainer jets worth $3.1 billion -- 64 T-50 advanced trainer jets worth $2.4 billion and 84 KT-1 basic trainer jets worth $700 million -- to countries such as Indonesia, Iraq, Thailand, Turkey, Peru and the Philippines since its foundation in 1999.

From January to September, its net profit fell 22 percent to 133.6 billion won from 171.9 billion won during the same period of last year. (Yonhap)