Monitoring Desk: Russian helicopter manufacturers are aggressively working in South Asian markets to sell machines and their prime target buyers are Pakistan and India. Pakistan, Ansat helicopters and Ka-226 helicopters are competing to attract buyers.
According to Russian defence journals, the Ministry of Defense of India will sign contract with holding company “Вертолеты России” in March 2018 for buying Ka-226T. It was previously decided that Rostec, Russian Helicopters and Hindustan Aeronautics would produce Ka-226T at Tumakuru plant in India but decision has been reverted and now India will buy product (helicopters) instead of jointly producing with Russia. It is pertinent to mention that Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his concerns over “Made in India” policy and believes that India should buy products instead of jointly producing with Russia in India.
The Ka-226T helicopter is a powerful, light multirole helicopter with precise hovering ability and excellent manoeuvrability. It is powered by 580 h.p. FADEC-equipped Arrius 2G1 engines by Turbomeca (French manufacturer) which enables the helicopter to land or take-off safely if one engine of the machine fails.
The Ka-226 can operate day and night, in regular and adverse weather conditions and can land on mash areas also. It is excellent to operate in high winds under extreme temperatures (-50°С to +50°С).
Meanwhile, Russian Helicopters Holding Company (part of Rostec State Corporation) has started testing multi-purpose Ansat helicopters in Pakistan for testing ability to use the machine in high temperatures.
According to company (Вертолеты России ), it has started test flights to check working of machine in extreme temperature regime from -45° to +50° Celsius. It is planned to finish testing by mid-November and then machine would be showcase in a conference scheduled to be held of capital of Pakistan (Islamabad) for potential Pakistani customers.
Ansat is a light multipurpose twin-engine helicopter produced at Kazan helicopter plant. Ansat is powered by PW 207K Pratt & Whitney Canada 630 h.p. engines and FADEC system.
Ansat can be used to transport cargo and passengers, for surveillance and for search and rescue operations as well as for fire-fighting missions.
