South Korea’s program to purchase 36 new AH-64 Apache attack helicopters seems destined to be definitively shelved, due to a drastic budget cut. This news was made known by congressman Yoo Yong-won, a representative of the main opposition party, People Power Party, citing official data from the Ministry of Defense. The original plan, which foresaw an allocation of 10 billion won, was reduced to just 300 million won in the recent supplementary financial law approved on Friday by the National Assembly. The remaining funds will now be reassigned to other projects, according to ministerial sources. The downsizing of the program follows a decision taken in May by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who initiated a formal review of the Apache purchases considering technological alternatives, including mixed human-machine platforms, that is, integrated systems between manned aircraft and armed drones. According to Congressman Yoo, this decision represents a positive development, highlighting how the US Army is also progressively abandoning the Apache platform, now considered too costly in terms of maintenance and operability, in favor of more flexible remote piloting configurations like the MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones.
