Secret operation helps North Korea own 87 US helicopters

North Korea used shell companies to purchase 87 US-made helicopters, then converted them into attack helicopters.

MD-500 helicopters during a military parade in Pyongyang. Photo: KCNA

During a parade in Pyongyang in 2013, the North Korean air force displayed four MD500E helicopters with anti-tank missile launchers on both sides. This was the first time the country confirmed that it maintained a fleet of 87 US-made MD500Es, all of which were purchased by North Korea nearly 30 years earlier through a secret operation, according to National Interest.

The MD500 is a civilian version of the OH-6 Cayuse light reconnaissance helicopter, which was introduced to the US military in the 1960s. Its compact, egg-shaped fuselage earned the OH-6 the nickname "Flying Egg". It was used for many purposes such as transporting wounded soldiers, escorting transport helicopters, reconnaissance, and providing fire support for infantry with machine guns and rockets.

What made the OH-6 Cayuse so popular was that it cost only about $20,000 each in 1962, the equivalent of $160,000 today. It could also operate and land in places that many other helicopters could not. However, the OH-6 was vulnerable to enemy ground fire. Upgraded versions such as the MH-6 and AH-6 continued to serve in US military missions in the Middle East and Africa.

In the 1980s, McDonnell Douglas received an order to build 102 MD 500s for Delta-Avia Fluggerate, a West German-registered import-export company owned by businessman Kurt Behrens. Between 1983 and 1985, the US company Associated Industries was tasked with delivering 86 MD-500D and MD-500E helicopters and a Hughes 300 via six Delta Avia shipments to various countries.

However, in February 1985, the US Department of Commerce discovered some suspicious points in the import-export company's operations, such as the delivery location not matching the bill of lading. The destinations of all these shipments were North Korea. After the investigation, Washington discovered that the owner of Associated Industries was also the majority shareholder of Delta Avia.

An MD-500E in service with the North Korean air force. Photo: Global Aviation

The remaining 15 MD-500 helicopters from Delta Avia's 102-unit contract were later confiscated, and the Semler brothers, owners of Associated Industries, were brought to court in 1987 for violating laws prohibiting trade with North Korea. Many experts believe that Delta Avia was just a front company to ship the aircraft to North Korea, and they were promised $10 million if they completed the deal. A British insurance company also participated in the operation, with payments made through a Swiss bank.

The Semler brothers pleaded guilty and received relatively light sentences, claiming that they had been misled by Behrens about the delivery location. They were fined a lot less than the money they made from the deal. Meanwhile, businessman Behrens flatly stated that the MD-500 helicopters were not on the export ban list because they were not military equipment.

The CIA claimed to have been aware of the smuggling operation, which was overseen by a North Korean attaché in Germany, with the assistance of a Soviet shipping company in West Germany. However, the CIA decided not to inform civilian authorities because it did not want to reveal that it had bugged the North Korean embassy.

One of the questions that has been raised is why Pyongyang wants to own MD-500s, even though the civilian version does not have the special technology that they would buy at any price. In fact, the reason is that MD-500s are cheap and can be converted into attack helicopters by installing machine guns and missile launchers. South Korea also applied this method when buying 270 MD-500s.

North Korea’s MD-500 helicopters could be used to infiltrate South Korea across the demilitarized zone and carry out surprise raids. Pyongyang maintains an estimated 200,000 special forces troops, a significant portion of which could be deployed by a fleet of MD-500s bearing enemy markings.

The MD-500s were also modified to carry the Susong-Po anti-tank missile, which North Korea developed from the Soviet Malyutka-P prototype. The Malyutka missiles destroyed many Israeli main battle tanks in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. This shows that Pyongyang possesses a strong anti-tank helicopter force with the MD-500 as its core.

The MD-500 carries four Susong-Po anti-tank missiles. Photo: KCNA

This secret operation allowed North Korea to acquire 87 helicopters from the United States, its direct opponent in a potential war, and it also shows the difficulties in trying to impose sanctions on the country, military expert Sebastien Roblin said.

According to VNE