Joint Manufacture of Maritime Helicopter Expected

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The Russian rotorcraft designer and manufacturer Russian Helicopters holding intends to participate in the tender for the supply of 111 shipborne Ka-226T helicopters for the Indian Navy. The helicopter can be produced by the Russian-Indian joint venture, agreed upon in October 2016, according to the company’s statement.

India will get 200 helicopters in nine years – out of which 60 of those helicopters will be assembled in Russia, while the remaining 140 helicopters will be assembled in India with the participation of a local company, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Later, the production of components shall be launched, and the final stage of the cooperation shall witness a full assembly of Ka-226T helicopters, according to defenseworld.net.

The signing of the final contract on the terms and conditions of JV operation shall be signed by Russian Helicopters, Rosoboronexport and HAL in the first quarter of 2018. The total contract value shall amount to 1 billion US dollars.

This light multi-purpose helicopter can comfortably seat up to seven people or one ton of cargo. The helicopter comes powered by two Safran Helicopter Engines Arrius 2G1, de-rated to 580shp in one engine inoperative mode to provide considerable enhanced performance in hot and high conditions, enabling operations at an elevation of up to 2,500m above sea level without affecting performance.

The Ka-226T also features the UKBP KBO-226 flight/navigation suite with multi-functional color displays and is provided with NVG compatible cockpit and exterior lighting, according to shephardmedia.com.

Russian Helicopter has already developed a marine modification of Ka-226T. In particular, the blade folding system in the shipborne modification of Ka-226T has already been certified. Moreover, the operation of a fleet consisting of one type of helicopters, including personnel training, will cost much less in this case.