S. Korea completes deployment of utility helicopter to Marine Corps

South Korea has completed the deployment of a homegrown utility helicopter to the Marine Corps, the state arms procurement agency said Thursday, as part of efforts to bolster the armed service's operational capabilities.

The armed service has received all planned units of the MUH-1 Marineon helicopter, a variant of the KUH-1 Surion helicopter developed by Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., since deployment first began in 2016, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

It did not specify the number of Marineon helicopters deployed, but about 30 of them are known to have been delivered.

It said the choppers' deployment will provide the Marine Corps with aerial maneuver capabilities to allow the armed service to carry out "multidimensional" amphibious landing operations and various other missions, including air assault operations and responding swiftly to enemy provocations in remote islands.

The country plans to develop other variant helicopters based on the Marineon, including a marine attack helicopter and a mine countermeasure helicopter.

South Korea completed developing the Marineon helicopter in 2015 after embarking on the project in 2013. (Yonhap)