ightglobal.com 18-31 August 2015 | Flight International | 47
RUSSIA
HELICOPTERSaxial rotor layout and detachable cabin mod-
ules. This helicopter is more suitable for hot-
and-high operations in urban and mountain
areas. India, having selected the platform for
its light scout requirement, is negotiating
terms covering local assembly, with a forecast
production run of between 200 and 500.
And yet, the future of Russian involvement
in this market segment is far from assured.
Competition from the West is very strong,
with most European and US manufacturers
having cultivated their presence for decades.
LACK OF LIGHT
Russia is entirely absent in the big market seg-
ment of light helicopters. Apart from a hand-
ful of 1.5t Mi-34s, of which fewer than 30
were built in the 1988-2011 timeframe, there
is no Russian presence there. Kamov tried its
luck with the 2t Ka-112, and Kazan Helicop-
ters with the 1.2t Aktai, but these did not pro-
ceed beyond prototypes. The primary reason
has been the very strong competition from US
and European manufacturers, which – unlike
Russians – have always been paying attention
to this sector.
“It is not easy for us to commence work on
indigenous lightweight helicopters in earnest
because the Mil and Kamov design houses are
now overloaded with other work. Instead, we
need to turn our Western rivals into partners,”
says Alexander Mikheyev, general manager at
Russian Helicopters. “So, in the domain of
lightweight helicopters we focus on partner-
ships with global manufacturers which are al-
ready well represented in this market niche”.
Rex Features“It is not easy to start work
on indigenous lightweight
helicopters in earnest”
ALEXANDER MIKHEYEV
General manager, Russian Helicopters
❯❯The Mi-26’s maximum take-off weight of
56t gives it a maximum payload of 20t. It can
take 82 armed soldiers or up to 60 wounded.
Over 300 Mi-26s have been manufactured so
far, including about 40 for export customers.
The latest deliveries were to the Russian de-
fence ministry: 17 machines in 2011-2014. In
addition to three Mi-26TS received in 2007-
2010, China ordered one more for delivery
this year.
In the meantime, the manufacturing plant- Rostvertol in Rostov-on-Don – has been
working on making the Mi-26T2 a new pro-
duction standard. It features a state-of-the-art
BREO-26 avionics package from Russian firm
KRET allowing for night operations, with a
glass cockpit based on five LCD screens, digi-
tal data processing, satellite-aided navigation,
secure datalink and built-in health-monitor-
ing system. The number of crew is reduced
from four to two (from five to three in case of
using a sling). The new avionics and im-
proved control system enables the helicopter
to execute precise manoeuvres when hover-
ing with an underslung load.
The Russian defence ministry is the primary
customer, but the exact number of orders is not
yet public. The first foreign customer is Alge-
ria, which signed for six units in July 2013.
This move had been preceded by a demonstra-
tion flight programme in the country using
MSN901, a prototype first flown in 2011.NEARING DELIVERY
Rostvertol assembled two deliverable Mi-26T2s
in 2014, both painted in “desert” colours, rather
than standard Russian grey or green livery. The
first entered flight tests in late December, and is
now being prepared for delivery.
After no less than five years of negotiations
and product definition talks, China and Rus-
sia have struck a deal to jointly develop the
Advanced Heavy Lift (AHL) helicopter. In the
presence of Chinese premier Xi Jinping and
Russian president Vladimir Putin, the respec-
tive agreement was signed on 8 May.
Executive director and chairman of the
Board at AVIC, Lin Zuoming, who applied his
signature to the agreement, says: “Russian
Helicopters has unique competence in heavy
rotorcraft. For instance, the performance of
the legendary Mi-26 series helicopters is un-
matched. These reliable machines have
helped us on a few occasions. The Mi-26TS
played an important role in disaster relief op-
erations following strong earth shakes in Si-
chuan province of China in 2008 and 2013. I
am convinced that the co-operation with Rus-
sian Helicopters on the new heavy helicopter
will be productive and will greatly influence
in a positive way the further development of
the Chinese helicopter industry.”
The AHL is intended have a MTOW of 38t,
and maximum internal payload capability of
10t and up to 15t on a sling. This makes it no
competitor to the heavier Mi-26T2, but rather aA Chinese People’s
Liberation Army Air
Force Mi-171EUpdated for a new generation, the Mi-26T2 is an improved version of the 56t heavylifter
Russian Helicopters