Two dozen Apache helicopters to be deployed in Korea this month

The US Forces Korea announced Monday it will deploy two dozen Apache helicopters to South Korea starting from this month, a move seen as to bolster the alliance’s defense capability amid the growing military threat from North Korea. 

The 24 AH-64D Apache heavy attack helicopters will replace the 30 OH-58D Kiowa Warrior observation and light attack choppers currently deployed on the Korean Peninsula, said the USFK in a joint statement with the Ministry of National Defense. 

The deployment will raise the number of Apache helicopters deployed here by both Korean and US forces to 84. The South Korean Army received Monday 36 AH-64E Apache choppers that it had placed an order for in 2013. There were previously 24 Apache helicopters in South Korea and they were assigned to one US battalion.

“(The deployment) is a demonstration of strong US will in implementing its security commitments and will significantly strengthen the ROK-US combined defense posture and capabilities,” said US Army Col. Rob Manning during the press briefing at the Defense Ministry.

The helicopters will be sent to Korea from Wednesday to Friday and military personnel operating the choppers are scheduled to arrive afterwards, it added. The whole deployment process is expected to be finished by early February.

Out of the 24 Apache helicopters, eight will be sent to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul. Sixteen will be sent to Suwon Air Base temporarily until they are relocated to Camp Humphreys this October, when it finishes the completion of the choppers’ airfield.

The decision came as part of the US rotational deployment of its military assets. Having been stationed in Korea since 2013, the OH-58D are scheduled to return to the US, as they are set to retire. In 2008, the US military pulled one Apache battalion out of Korea to dispatch them to Afghanistan.

Military officials expect that the helicopters will play a significant role in neutralizing North Korea’s tanks and hovercraft -- crucial assets to its special warfare. They can carry 16 air-to-ground precision anti-armor Hellfire missiles, 76 70-millimeter rockets and 30-mm machine gun that can shoot some 1200 rounds.

“The decision is a part of our efforts to beef up the USFK force’s capability as we face escalating cross-border tension,” said Kim Sung-min, Col. Manning’s counterpart who works as a director of the US policy division at the Defense Ministry. 

Last November, USFK Commander Vincent Brooks noted that the US will double the number of Apache helicopters deployed on the Korean Peninsula to enhance the bilateral alliance’s defense capability against North Korea. 

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)