Aircraft performance and configuration of a heavy transport helicopter to be developed by Russia and China will be defined by February 2015, CEO of Russian Helicopters Holding Company, Alexander Mikheev, told RIA Novosti.
The 10th Airshow China — 2014 exhibition was held in Zhuhai on November 11th – 16th 2014. 47 Russian companies took part in the show; Russian Knights aerobatic team took part in demonstration flights.
“At present we are working on the scheme of cooperation. We are also defining areas of responsibility for Russian and Chinese party. We must understand which design bureaus will take part in the project, which competences and technologies will be used, etc. We will hold negotiations in 2 or 3 months and approve configuration and performance specification of the helicopter,” Mikheev told journalists at the show.
In July Russia and China agreed on joint development of a wide-body long-haul aircraft and advanced helicopter with a payload of 15 tons. It was reported earlier that this refers to upgrade of Mi-26 (NATO reporting name — Halo) — the heavy transport helicopter, which was put into service by the Soviet air forces in 1985. To date few hundreds of Mi-26 helicopters have been manufactured.
Airshow China exhibition is held since 1996 on even years; it is the largest international aerospace show in the region. Traditionally civil and military aircraft, spacecraft, equipment, weapons and vehicles for assault forces, fire-control systems, air defense systems, radars and navigation equipment for airports are showcased at the exhibition.
China is one of the world’s largest operators of Russian-produced helicopters. In particular, over 160 Mi-171 helicopters are operated in the region.