A CH-47F Chinook of the US Army’s 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade lands at Osan Air Base in South Korea in May 2025. (Mike Yeo / Breaking Defense)
MELBOURNE — The US and South Korean militaries have agreed on a plan to overhaul US Army Chinook heavy lift helicopters based in South Korea in-country under a pilot program involving South Korean defense firms.
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a news release that the decision was made during a meeting of the Republic of Korea (ROK) – US Logistics Cooperation Committee in Seoul on Tuesday.
The meeting was attended by US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Product Support Lisa Smith and South Korea’s Director General for Logistics Management of the ROK MND Lee Kap-soo.
The release added that the participation of South Korean defense companies would strengthen the ROK-US alliance and improve the combat readiness of both countries armed forces, as well as enhance South Korean defense industry capabilities.
The US Army’s 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade stationed at Camp Humphreys in South Korea operates the CH-47F Chinook, along with South Korea’s army and air forces.
It was not announced which South Korean defense company would be carrying out the depot-level maintenance of the Chinook’s T55 turboshaft engines, but a Hanwha Aerospace spokesperson told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency that the company is the only one in-country with the facilities and expertise capable of doing the work.
The company said in a Wednesday statement on its Linkedin page that it welcomed the strategic decision to establish South Korea as the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hub for the T55 engine under the Regional Sustainment Framework (RSF), calling it a testament to both countries’ shared commitment to regional security.
“As Korea’s sole aircraft engine specialist with 46 years of proven excellence, Hanwha Aerospace is uniquely positioned to lead this effort. We are ready to leverage our advanced MRO capabilities to ensure maximum operational availability for U.S. forces across the region”, it added.
Hanwha’s shipbuilding arm, Hanwha Ocean, previously completed the overhaul of the Military Sealift Command’s dry cargo ship USNS Wally Schirra in March 2025 and has won contracts for the overhaul of the oiler USNS Yukon and another dry cargo ship, the USNS Charles Drew.
The DoD announced the RSF initiative in May 2024 as an effort to develop distributed MRO capabilities closer to the point of need by collaborating with allies and partners, as well as the US and international defense industrial bases, by leveraging on their capabilities to better support the US military readiness.
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Author: Mike Yeo
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