SEOUL— Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has selected Northrop Grumman’s Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) for the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase of a new variant of the MUH-1 Marineon helicopter.

The blue-green lasers on the ALMDS can penetrate water to identify sea mines moored deep below the surface. KAI is developing a Mine Countermeasures Helicopter (MCH) variant of the twin-engine Marineon, with the EMD phase scheduled to be completed by 2027. The Marineon is a variant of the KUH-1 Surion.

The selection by KAI makes the ALMDS the likely countermeasure payload for the production version of the MCH.

“KAI is convinced the ALMDS integration will make a significant improvement to [South] Korea’s Navy mine-detection capabilities,” says Chang-heon Han, KAI’s executive vice president for the rotary-wing division.

The MCH also will include an airborne mine neutralization system and the ability to deploy an autonomous underwater vehicle.

The South Korean government launched the MCH program last December with a $257 million (KRW347.7 billion) contract award.