Rotary boom

The Russian Air Force plans to significantly renew its rotorcraft fleet during the next decade. Russia’s new state armament procurement program through 2020 calls for the delivery of over 1,000 new helicopters to the Armed Forces. According to Dmitry Petrov, CEO of the Russian Helicopters holding company that controls the national helicopter industry, up to 120 military helicopters will be delivered annually throughout this period, peaking at 160 units a year. More than 100 deliveries are to be made this year alone.

Petrov praises the new regulations under which helicopter manufacturers may conclude long-term contracts with the military. This, he says, makes the industry’s life much simpler than the one-year deals practiced before. Russian Helicopters announced its first three long-term contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry in early May, with deliveries planned for 2011-18. No details are available, but Petrov says the helicopters on order will be built at the Rostvertol facility in Rostov-on-Don. Rostvertol’s military products include Mil Mi-35M and Mi-28N attack helicopters, and also Mi-26 heavy-lift transports.

"By the end of this year we hope to have signed contracts [with the Defense Ministry] on behalf of all our subsidiary production facilities," Petrov says, adding that the company’s current capacities will be enough to fulfill all the defense orders on time.