South Korea will conduct cold-weather tests of its first homegrown helicopter in the U.S. state of Alaska between the year-end and early February of next year, a military source said Saturday.

The “Surion” utility helicopter was developed by the country’s sole aircraft manufacturer, Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., with an investment by the government and launched in 2006.

The military chopper, also intended for civilian use, made its successful maiden flight in March 2010.

“(We) plan to transfer the indigenous chopper, Surion, to Alaska and conduct the test flights,” the source said, adding that the flights will be conducted from Dec. 24 to early February of next year.

The KAI plans to move the Surions on a leased Russian transport plane, the source said, adding that the tests will be intended to find out whether the choppers can withstand extreme cold weather.

“The budget for the test flights will require around 4.2 billion won ($3.9 million),” the source said.

The South Korean military aims to supply about 30 Surions to the Marine Corps between 2017 and early 2020, after remodeling them to amphibious helicopters that can land and take off from either land or water.

The Surion, which is powered by the U.S.-made T-700 turboshaft engine, is 15 meters long, 4.5 meters high and 2 meters wide and has a maximum takeoff weight of 8.7 tons. It can dive 1,500 meters per minute before making an abrupt halt. It is equipped with the latest global positioning and inertial navigation systems vital for all-weather flight operations.

The development of the Surion made South Korea the world’s 11th developer of a homegrown chopper. (Yonhap News)