On the 17th of March, an accident occurred at the Army Aviation Battalion in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, where an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) collided with a landed helicopter, resulting in a fire. Fortunately, there were no human casualties, but both the UAV and the helicopter were completely destroyed, leading to property damage exceeding 30 billion won. Concerns about surveillance gaps have been raised due to consecutive UAV incidents.
The incident involved a large reconnaissance UAV named ‘Heron,’ belonging to the Ground Operations Command, which collided with a stationary ‘Surion’ (KUHC-1) military helicopter at the army airbase in Gwangjeok-myeon, Yangju-si, at approximately 1:05 PM. Following the collision, a fire broke out, and firefighting authorities dispatched 20 pieces of equipment and 50 personnel to extinguish it within about 30 minutes. The detailed cause of the accident is still under investigation, according to a Ground Operations Command representative.
Preliminary reports suggest that the Heron UAV struck the Surion during ground movement after landing, implying it was not a mid-air crash. Possible causes include damage to the landing gear during touchdown or operator error causing deviation from the set ground path toward the helicopter’s tie-down area. The military has ruled out any interference from North Korea’s GPS jamming and confirmed the absence of terrorist or hostile actions in connection with the incident.
The Heron UAVs, which were procured from Israel in 2016 at a cost of 40 billion won for three units, are primarily used for monitoring activities in regions like North Korea’s Hwanghae Province. The Surion helicopters, developed domestically by Korea Aerospace Industries and the Agency for Defense Development, were introduced to the army in 2012.
A more pressing issue over the property damage is the current inability of the Ground Operations Command to operate any Heron UAVs. The first unit crashed last November due to North Korean GPS jamming, the second is undergoing overseas maintenance for crucial components, and the third was lost in the recent incident. Despite concerns over potential surveillance and reconnaissance gaps, the Joint Chiefs of Staff assured that alternative assets from the U.S., as well as other army corps and division-level equipment, are operational to compensate for the loss.