South Korea may buy Apache helicopters

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SEOUL, April 14 (UPI) -- The South Korean army may buy up to 36 Apache helicopters from the United States worth about $1.84 billion, sources told the Chosun Ilbo daily.

The South Korean defense acquisition program administration, in a report to the National Assembly's Defense Committee, said it wants to buy large attack helicopters to replace the aging 500MD and AH-1 attack choppers, the Chosun Ilbo reported Thursday.

The newspaper said while the administration did not say which model or give the number of choppers to be purchased, it quoted sources as saying the order could be 36 of the new Apache Block III helicopters, which can support two battalions.

The report said the army had been seeking to acquire the Apache model since the 1990s, but couldn't buy them because of budgetary constraints. But new threats from North Korea, including its shelling of a South Korean island last November, has helped renew interest in the Apache, which could be financed from savings resulting from downsizing ground weapons programs, the report said.