Arms agency hold talks on Surion helicopter exports to Iraq during arms fair

Korea’s arms procurement agency said Wednesday it has taken part in a defense exhibition in Iraq and held talks with Iraqi military officials over exports of the South’s Surion helicopters. Officials from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) visited the Middle Eastern country for the International Defense Exhibition from Saturday through Tuesday to promote Korean weapons systems, according to the agency. In a meeting with Iraq’s Defense Minister Thabet Mohammed Al-Abbasi, DAPA officials expressed their willingness to advance growing defense cooperation between the two nations. The Iraqi defense minister was quoted as stressing the need to bolster bilateral cooperation in the arms industry and expressed deep trust in the Korean arms industry, according to DAPA. In December, Korean defense firm Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI) signed a 136 billion won ($95.3 million) deal to export Surion helicopters to Iraq by March 2029, in what marked the first export of the homegrown chopper. The Surion, also known as the Korean Utility Helicopter, is a medium-sized utility helicop
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