Albeit only through 1:10 scale replicas, brochures or commercial talks, Russian Helicopters attended FIDAE 2014 to strengthen their share in the Latin American marketplace by showcasing new models in their product range, including the Mi-171A2 and Ka-32A11BC commercial helicopters, the seasoned veteran Mi-35M multirole military transport helicopter and the Ka-62 project. “Latin America is a strategically important market […] for Russian Helicopters” said Sergei Goreslavsky, head of international cooperation at Russian Helicopters’ holding company, State Corporation Rostec. And he revealed regional goals and potential sales strategies by stating they “are interested in promoting not only military helicopters but also Russian Helicopters’ commercial offerings”.
According to internal figures, Russian Helicopters has seen sustainable growth in demand from Latin America. “The fleet of Russian-built helicopters in Latin America has grown by 6% over the last three years, from 385 machines in 2011 to 409 at the start of 2014,” said Russian Helicopters CEO, Alexander Mikheev. “Our products are recognised around the world for their reliability and efficiency, and this helps us not only to maintain our traditionally strong position in Latin America but also to grow our presence in this fast-growing market”. Russian Helicopters said that Latin America operates one of the largest fleets of Russian-built helicopters in the world and stated they dominate 77% of the regional fleet in commercial helicopters with maximum take-off weight of 10-20 tons plus 42% of the military helicopters segment.
Furthering this positioning, in 2013 Russian Helicopters signed contracts with countries across Latin America for 41 helicopters with deliveries scheduled for 2014-2016. The company believes Latin America is one of the largest and fastest growing markets anywhere in the world and Russian Helicopters sees it as a strategic priority for growing its global market share. “We have traditionally had strong positions across Latin America, and are continuing to work on strengthening them further,” said Mikheev, who also mentioned that “2013 was a record-breaking year for us in terms of contracts signed, which represents fair reward for our hard work.”
FIDAE 2014 offerings
The new Mi-171A2 has been developed based on the Mi-8/17 series drawing on its extensive operational history in various regions and climates. The helicopter makes use of the latest technologies and also factors in feedback from potential clients and operators; additionally incorporating the latest power plant, a new rotor system and modern “glass cockpit” avionics.
The coaxial Ka-32A11BC is well known to operators in the region thanks to its EASA, FAR29 and AP-29 standards compliance. The Ka-32A11BC can fly a range of missions and is particularly valuable for fire-fighting, with more than 40 different mission-specific options. In fact, in early 2013 the helicopter was chosen as the symbol of the Global Helicopter Firefighting Initiative (GHFI), and later that year was actively combating some of the worst wildfires in Borneo’s (Indonesia) history.
The Mi-35M is a multipurpose military transport helicopter destined for combat missions on daylight, night time and adverse weather conditions. It can be fitted with a variety of missiles, rockets or gun pods to destroy enemy armoured vehicles, provide supporting fire for ground units, deploy troops, evacuate casualties or freight cargo internally or under its external sling. The type is relatively well known in the area, where Peru and Brazil operate the present model or some of its predecessors.
Russian Helicopters purportedly also held meetings with regional operators to update them on the status of the Ka-62 programme and to identify opportunities to deploy this new medium multirole helicopter in the area. Designed and built with extensive international collaboration, the Ka-62 will be fitted with modern Ardiden 3G engines supplied by Turbomeca, meet the highest environmental and fuel-efficiency standards, and will comply with Russian AP-29, European CS-29 and JAR-OPS3 certification requirements for freight, medevac, search and rescue, oil and gas off-shore and corporate purposes.
 |
 Ka-32A11BC |
 Ka-62 |
 Mi-35M |
 Mi-171A2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power plant | ||||
| Make & model | 2 х TV3-117 VMA | 2 x Turbomeca Ardiden 3G | 2x ТVЗ-117VМА or VК-2500 | 2 x VK-2500PS-03 |
| Take off power | 2,200 hp | 1,776 hp | 4,400 hp | 2,400 hp |
| Contingency power | 2,400 hp | |||
| Performance | ||||
| Max speed | 260 km/h | 308 km/h | 310 km/h | 280 km/h |
| Cruise speed | 200 km/h | 290 km/h | 260 km/h | 260 km/h |
| Max range (internal fuel) | 650 km | 770 km | 460 km | 800 km/h |
| Hover ceiling (OGE) | 3,300 m | 3,150 m | 4,000 m | |
| Operational ceiling | 5,000 m | 5,400 m | 6,000 m | |
| Weight | ||||
| Max take-off weight | 11,000 kg | 6,500 kg | 11,500 kg | 13,000 kg |
| Max payload (internal) | 3,700 kg | 2,000 kg | 2,400 kg | 4,000 kg |
| Max payload (full) | 5,000 kg | 2,500 kg | 2,700 kg | |
| Internal capacity | ||||
| Crew | 1-2 | 1-2 | 2 | 1-2 |
| Passengers | 0-13 | 12-15 | n/a | 24 |
| Cargo cabin volume | 7.3 m3 | 9.5 m3 | n/a | 23 m3 |
Sources: Russian Helicopters.
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