South Korea to partially replace UH-60 fleet with Surion helicopters.

The South Korean military plans to change the defense minister's helicopter from the U.S.-made UH-60 to the locally developed Surion, a military source said Sunday, according to the local media Yonhap.

A KUH-1 Surion helicopter performing at ADEX 2017 exhibition in Seoul, South Korea

The American model has been used as "commander helicopters" for the defense minister as well as the chiefs of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. But calls have arisen to replace it with Surion amid criticism that it makes no sense for South Korea to try to export Surion while it uses UH-60 for top commanders.

"We're considering changing the defense minister's command helicopter from UH-60 to Surion," the source said. "Some modification of Surion is necessary to use it as a command helicopter, such as installing a command communications system and guest seats."

The source said that the military also plans to change the helicopters of other top commanders from the UH-60 to Surion. Officials of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force held the first meeting on the issue last month and plan to have another later this month, the source said.

The KUH-1 Surion can carry up to 16 troops in an operational range of 530 km. It is powered by two Hanwha Techwin T700-ST-701K turboshaft, a variant of the T700-GE-701C engine. The KUH-1 Surion can carry up to 16 troops in an operational range of 530 km. It is powered by two Hanwha Techwin T700-ST-701K turboshaft, a variant of the T700-GE-701C engine.