Korea Aerospace Industries tests Light Armed Helicopter in Canadian cold.

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), South Korea, conducted cold-weather testing on their Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) at the Yellowknife Airport (YZF). Testing started on December 6, 2021 continued until early February 2022.

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Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) (Picture source: DAPA)

The LAH is a military aircraft currently under development by KAI. It will arrived at YZF oon a massive cargo aircraft, the Antonov 124. While the LAH is an armed aircraft, it was tested without live munitions.

This is YZF’s first cold-weather testing partnership with KAI. YZF and KAI first started collaborating in 2018 to secure this opportunity.

KAI sent 40 engineers, pilots and support staff to Yellowknife for 10 weeks which is estimated to inject two million dollars to the local economy and will benefit hotels, restaurants, car rental companies, etc. KAI also contracted Det’on Cho Logistics to coordinate the logistics for the duration of the cold-weather testing.

The tests were done through a total of 40 flights in a Canadian territory with an average winter temperature of minus 32 degrees Celsius.

The test of the light-armed helicopter (LAH) developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) was carried out in Yellow Knife, the capital city of Canada's Northwest Territories near the Arctic, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the Korean state arms procurement agency. 

The helicopter has passed the so-called "soaking" test that exposes aircraft to low temperatures for a long time, verifies operational capabilities, and checks whether various equipment such as the engine is operating normally. "The overseas low-temperature flight test cleared a major hurdle in the evaluation of small attack helicopters" said a DAPA official in charge of helicopter development in a statement on February 18.