Russia and China have signed a contract stipulating the joint development of a heavy helicopter, according to the Head of the Russian Helicopters holding, Andrey Boginsky, at a meeting with the country’s President Vladimir Putin.
“In 2016, during your visit to Beijing, an intergovernmental agreement was signed. Since 2008, intensive negotiations have been going on, and this year, on June 25, we signed a contract,” the Head specified to the President.
Earlier, it was reported that China’s Avicopter will be the lead developer, while Russian Helicopters will design a number of key parts of the future helicopter. According to Boginsky, the Russian side will develop the transmission, tail rotor and anti-icing systems. The project, according to the CEO of Russian Helicopters, is designed for about 13 years.
As specified, the Chinese side will carry out the organization of the heavy helicopter programme as a whole, including design, construction of prototypes, testing, certification, preparation and serial production, as well as the promotion of the helicopter to the market and overall coordination of work. The Russian holding will provide technologies and develop an engineering proposal and individual machine systems on a contract basis.
It is planned that the maximum take-off weight of the helicopter will be 38.2 tonnes, the service ceiling will be 5,700 metres, the flight range will reach 630 km, and the maximum speed, 300 km/h. The carrying capacity of the AHL (Advanced Heavy Lifter) when the cargo is located inside the fuselage will be 10 tonnes, and up to 15 tonnes when the cargo is placed as an external load.
Ru-Main, 10.11.2021
Source: TASS
