Korea South-Korea Attack & Utility Helicopter Programs

[urban mine]

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[Slayer]

Side by side and chin mounted gun - how does that compute? Doesn't tandem make more sense?

 

[urban mine]

Side by side and chin mounted gun - how does that compute? Doesn't tandem make more sense?

There was a lot of controversy in South Korea on that issue.

On its official YouTube channel, KAI stated that the Side by Side is not particularly inferior to the Tandem. It was said that the side-by-side design is vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire because it increases the frontal area of the helicopter, but KAI responded that the helicopter's major systems are redundant and separate, so even if one system is hit and loses functionality, the other system can still operate normally. They said that being hit does not immediately lead to the loss of the aircraft, and that the best way to increase survivability is to fly the mission away from enemy detection.

So, to put it more simply, KAI's view is that seat design is not that big of an issue on the modern battlefield, and the ROC of the South Korean Marines did not point this out either.