Russia and China has signed a contract for the supply of four Ка-32А11ВС helicopters for firefighting missions.

Russian Helicopters, a subsidiary of the Russian state technology company Rostec, has signed a contract with a Chinese Jiangsu Baoli for the supply of four Ка-32А11ВС helicopters for firefighting missions, the company said in a statement Monday.

"Helicopters Ка-32А11ВС are widely used by Chinese fire service for firefighting and rescue operations…," the statement said.

According to the manufacturer, the helicopters will be delivered between 2016 and 2017.

The Ka-32A11BC helicopter is designed for search and rescue operations, firefighting missions and providing support in law enforcement operations.

Once delivered to China, the Ka-32A11BC helicopters will be used in fire-fighting operations, as well as for patrols and supporting special operations, Rostec reported.

'These helicopters are successfully operated in China. This contract confirms our interest in developing mutually beneficial cooperation, and we plan to continue to grow it through additional deliveries and new projects,' Russian Helicopters СEO Alexander Mikheev said.

'Ka-32A11BC helicopters are ideally suited to China's high mountainous regions and heavily built-up urban centres, since they do not need much space to land and are easy to manoeuvre in mountainous and urban high-rise areas,' Russian Helicopters Deputy CEO for Marketing and Business Development Alexander Shcherbinin said.

China's fire-fighting service has considerable experience of using Ka-32A11BC helicopters to fight fires and in search-and-rescue operations. In early January this year the Ka-32A11BC played a crucial role in rescuing passengers from the ice-bound Akademic Shokalsky research ship.

The Ka-32A11BC meets FAR-29 and AP-29 airworthiness standards, and has EASA certification. They are operated successfully in Austria, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Spain, and Switzerland.