MOSCOW, November 8. /TASS/. Russia and China have signed a contract stipulating the joint development of a heavy helicopter, Andrey Boginsky, head of the Russian Helicopters holding, said at a meeting with Russian 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," he said.
According to Boginsky, the Russian side will develop some elements, including the transmission, tail rotor and anti-icing systems. The helicopter will take about 13 years to build, he added.
About the project
Under the 2016 intergovernmental agreement, the Russian Helicopters holding and the Chinese company Avicopter will jointly develop the advanced heavy helicopter AC332 AHL and launch its serial production in China to meet demand in the Chinese market.
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.
The Chinese side will carry out the organization of the heavy helicopter program 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, in turn, will provide technologies, as well as develop an engineering proposal and individual machine systems on a contract basis.
The maximum take-off weight of the helicopter will be 38.2 tonnes, the service ceiling will be 5,700 meters. The flight range will reach 630 km, the maximum speed - 300 km/h. The carrying capacity of the AHL 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.