Every operation South Korea’s army aviation has flown
Army aviation’s documented combat record is thin. Its Korean War role rests on lineage dates and the light aircraft it flew; no Vietnam service by army aviation was found in the sources checked. The December 2022 drone incursion is given as Stars and Stripes and Namuwiki report it; North Korea made no public statement. The flights to the National Assembly under martial law in December 2024 were not combat and are described on the page instead. Where a consolidated sortie or loss figure exists in the official record it is given here; where accounts disagree, the range is shown and the disagreement named. Blank cells are blank because no figure could be verified, not because the fighting was small.
From liaison flying in the Korean War to Cobras against North Korean drones in 2022.
| Conflict | Years | Against | Main aircraft | Sorties | Aircraft lost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Korean Warthe Fatherland Liberation War in North KoreaRepublic of Korea Army aviation section (from 1 October 1950) | 1950–1953 | North Korea and People’s Republic of China | L-4 Grasshopper, L-5 Sentinel | |||
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Liaison and observation flying with light aircraft; the details are not documented in the sources reached. South Korea and the United Nations date the war to North Korea’s attack on 25 June 1950; North Korea’s official account says the South attacked first. When the war began the army had no aviation of its own: its first aviation unit, formed in 1948, had become the Republic of Korea Air Force on 1 October 1949. Namuwiki records that an aviation section was set up in Army Headquarters on 1 October 1950 and an aviation department at the Army Artillery School on 23 January 1952, and lists L-4 and L-5 liaison aircraft among the army’s first types. What the army’s own flyers did in the war is not described in the sources reached; the air war is covered on the Republic of Korea Air Force page. Outcome The armistice of 27 July 1953 ended the fighting without a peace treaty. The army aviation role in the war rests on the lineage dates and type list in Namuwiki; no operational record was found.
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| The North Korean drone incursionSeoul and GimpoRepublic of Korea Army Aviation | 2022 | North Korea | AH-1S Cobra | 0 | ||
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AH-1S attack helicopters were sent after the drones together with air force fighters and a KA-1; none of the drones was brought down. On 26 December 2022 at least five North Korean drones, each about two metres long, crossed into South Korea, Stars and Stripes reported, citing the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Fighters and helicopters were scrambled. Namuwiki says army AH-1S attack helicopters engaged the drones and failed, drawing criticism. North Korea made no public statement on the incursion in the reports consulted. Outcome None of the drones was brought down; the army’s attempt to engage was criticised, according to Namuwiki. The number of helicopters and rounds fired were not confirmed in the sources reached.
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Nothing matches that search.
Every figure, checked
- Namuwiki: 육군항공사령부User-edited; used as a finding aid for the lineage (5 May 1948 to 1 October 1949; 1 October 1950; 23 January 1952; 1 February 1955; 17 October 1961; 30 January 1973; 1 July 1989; 1 December 2021), the headquarters at Icheon, the brigade structure, historic and current types, the commanders and the acting commander (page revision of 25 September 2026).
- Namuwiki: AH-1 코브라Says army AH-1S attack helicopters engaged the North Korean drones of December 2022 without success, drawing criticism.
- Stars and Stripes: South Korea responds in force to North Korean drone intrusion near Seoul (26 December 2022)At least five North Korean drones, each about 6.5 feet long; a ROKAF KA-1 crashed on take-off and its two pilots escaped.
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Back to the Republic of Korea Army Aviation.