A new helicopter designed by Russia’s Rostec Corporation and China’s Avicopter is breaking heavy-lift aviation barriers with an expected payload of up to 16 metric tons.

Military analyst Dmitry Drozdenko explained to Sputnik that:

Such helicopters are often used to ferry heavy gear and materials by air to otherwise inaccessible places, carrying their payload either inside a cargo compartment or attached to an external hardpoint

There is always a need for such craft – “there are certain structures, like relay towers or tall skyscrapers, where construction is possible only with the help of helicopters”

Russia, who designed and built the helicopter with the highest lifting capacity (Mi-26), possesses unique technical expertise that will be invaluable in this project

China, in turn, provides production capacity and robotics for this endeavor

China and Southeast Asia are a gigantic market for such heavy transport aircraft and the US and Europe simply won’t be able to compete with this new helicopter because they’ve got nothing comparable to offer, Drozdenko suggests.