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Korea Aerospace Industries has engaged American aviation supplier GE Aerospace to provide health and usage monitoring system for the Korean Marine Attack Helicopter.
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The General Electric subsidiary has been selected to develop and supply the HUMS to KAI from sites in Southampton in the United Kingdom and Grand Rapids in the USA, according to a public statement made on 18 June.
The company has already provided more than 250 similar systems to Korea Aerospace Industries for their “Surion” Korean Utility Helicopter.
Deliveries will commence in 2024 and include data acquisition and processing units, optical blade tracker and multi-platform ground stations.
GE Aerospace avionics general manager and president Matt Burns said the agreement follows an award for KAI to develop and supply Korean Marine Attack Helicopters to the Korean government.
“This award builds upon and continues a strong business relationship of supplying rotorcraft health monitoring systems to KAI,” he said.
“We continue to advance the HUMS technology in support of rotorcraft OEMs as well as civil and military rotorcraft operators.”
HUMS equipment provides critical monitoring of the health of aircraft systems such as engines, transmissions, bearings, and rotors through real-time analysis.
Results are stored in the aircraft in a removable memory cartridge for transfer to a ground station. That data can be used to aid maintenance personnel in isolating premature deterioration of components and provides advance warning of potential equipment failures.
In mid-June, BAE Systems announced that it has been contracted to provided an adapted version of its Archerfish mine disposal system to Korean Aerospace Industries.
Valued at £7.4 million, the contract includes a “complete” capability, engineering expertise and support to the Republic of Korea Navy and Korea Aerospace Industries. New features will be developed for the system, including new data links with aircraft.
The remote-controlled underwater mine neutralizer can be launched and operated from surface ships, underwater vehicles and helicopters.
It is already in service with the US Navy. BAE Systems explains that it reduces the requirement to rely on divers.
“We are proud to be working with Korea Aerospace Industries to develop the Republic of Korea Navy’s future helicopter mine neutralisation capability,” Dr Brooke Hoskins, director of Products and Training Services for BAE Systems’ Maritime Services said.
“This builds on Archerfish’s proven credentials for mine clearance operations with the US Navy. Archerfish helps to keep sailors safe, increases the efficiency of mine clearance missions, and is small and lightweight making it ideal for integration into airborne and surface platforms.”
