The government has picked Boeing's AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopter for a strategic project aimed at neutralizing North Korea's multiple rocket launchers and hovercraft that threaten the northwesternmost islands.
A committee chaired by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin on Wednesday gave the final nod to the selection of the AH-64E over Bell Helicopter's AH-1Z Viper and the T-129 of Turkish Aerospace Industries.
Seoul will buy 36 Apache helicopters worth W1.8 trillion (US$1=W1,119) between 2016 and 2018.
The Apache came to notice for its ability to destroy tanks during the Gulf War and elsewhere. Its forte is the Longbow fire-control radar, which is supposedly capable of identifying friend or foe among more than 1,000 ground targets. It can trace the movement of 256 targets and prioritize the 16 most dangerous ones.
The Apache can load air-to-ground anti-tank missiles, air-to-air missiles, 30-mm chain guns and infrared surveillance devices.
For instance, Apache helicopters equipped with air-to-ground Hellfire II missiles can hit a target up to 8 km away. They can also strike enemy choppers or fighter jets with the air-to-air Stringer missile.
The government hopes that they will help the country balance out its numerical inferiority to North Korean tanks. As of January 2012, North Korea had about 4,200 tanks compared to South Kore's 2,400.
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2013/04/18/2013041801405.html
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