ZCZC
BCN-19
RUSSIA-CHINA-SIGN-AHL-HELICOPTER
Russia, China to sign master contract for AHL heavy helicopter – Russian
government office
MOSCOW, Nov 5, 2018 (BSS/TASS) – Russian Helicopters and China’s Avicopter
are expected to sign a framework contract for the development of the AHL
(Advanced Heavy Lifter) helicopter, first deputy head of the Russian
government office Sergei Prikhodko told journalists on Monday.
“It is planned to sign the framework contract and all the sub-contracts on
November 7, during the 23rd regular meeting of the Russian and Chinese heads
of government,” he said in reply to a TASS question.
According to Prikhodko, Russian Helicopters and China’s Avicopter had 24
rounds of talks on a would-be contract in a period from May 2014 to October
2018. In May, the sides initialed all the sub-contracts and finished the work
on a master contract and initialed its text in October.
The agreement on the development of the AHL helicopter was signed between
Russia and China in June 2016.
Under the agreement, Russian Helicopters Group, part of Russia’s Rostec
state hi-tech corporation, will make investments in the program in the form
of technologies and design separate systems of the helicopter, while China
will be responsible for implementing the program as a whole.
In the summer of 2017, Director for International Cooperation and Regional
Policy at Russia’s Rostec Corporation Viktor Kladov said that at least 200
AHL helicopters would be built under the contract.
According to data presented earlier, the helicopter will have a maximum
takeoff weight of 38.2 tons, a service ceiling of 5,700 meters, a range of
630 kilometers (391 miles) and a maximum speed of 300 km/h (186 mph). The
AHL’s lifting capacity will stand at 10 tons for internal cargo carriage and
at 15 tons for underslung cargo.
BSS/TASS/HR/1145