HeliRussia – the international annual exhibition and conference for the rotorcraft industry went ahead as scheduled from 20-22 May. Visitors were able to view exhibits from international manufacturers including:
- Leonardo Helicopters
- Airbus Helicopters
- Robinson
- Bell Textron
One of the speakers was Dmitry Shugaev, director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation of the Russian Federation. According to him, Russia plans to supply foreign customers with various helicopters worth over US$1Bn in 2021.
The show also proved the strategic relationship between Russia and Republic of Belarus. The national leading national engine designer and manufacturer UEC-Klimov announced plans to carry out medium repair of helicopter engines on the territory of the Orsha aircraft repair plant in Belarus. The corresponding agreement between the enterprises was signed on the first day of the show by Pavel Sluchak, Director General of Orsha Aircraft Repair Plant, and Alexander Vatagin, Executive Director of UEC-Klimov.
According to the signed document, UEC-Klimov is to arrange related technology transfer, supply special equipment, spare parts and assemblies. Orsha Aircraft Repair Plant, in addition to areas for repairs, will provide personnel to support the work. Medium repair involves the restoration of engine performance in the event of a malfunction before the specified resource is used up.
Earlier, UEC-Klimov and Orsha Aircraft Repair Plant had signed a cooperation agreement and a roadmap for the implementation of a project to organise a service center on the basis of a Belarusian enterprise. Currently, Belarus has over 45 helicopters with TV3-117 engines being developed UEC-Klimov but the Orsha facilities are to be involved in the engine repair and upgrade for third parties as well.
Other HeliRussia 2021 Deals
Based on the results of the audit, Airbus once again certified UTair-Engineering JSC as an authorised maintenance centre for helicopters of the European aviation concern in Russia. The ceremony for presenting the certificate was held on the first day of the show. Airbus also certified the first distributor of its own helicopters in Russia in the form of the Gorka business aviation innovation centre, which became entitled to offer Russian customers a range of Airbus helicopters, including:
- H125
- H130
- H135
- H145.
Another international deal was signed between the UTair Aviation and Kazaviaspas, the sole helicopter operator in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The memorandum of cooperation has an aim of developing a long-term partnership.
Yury Laskin
