Korean Air wins bid to service U.S. Marine Corps helicopters

Korean Air announced on Tuesday that the carrier won its bid for a defense helicopter maintenance business worth 50 billion won ($45.4 million) from the U.S. Marine Corps on Saturday.

Korean Air participated in the open bid for the project last August, and beat the current maintenance service supplier with its repair and overhaul techniques.

Under the contract, the carrier will be repairing more than 40 CH-53 heavy helicopters starting this June through 2020.

These defense helicopters, known as “Stallions,” are manufactured by U.S. defense company Sikorsky and mainly used in the long-distance transportation of soldiers and goods in addition to detecting and eliminating mines. This is the second time Korean Air has won a maintenance project for this particular model.