OREANDA-NEWS. Russian Helicopters (part of State Corporation Rostec) has signed a contract with China's Jiangsu Baoli for delivery of 4 Ka-32A11BC fire-fighting helicopters in 2016-2017.

Once delivered to China, the Ka-32A11BC helicopters will be used in fire-fighting operations, as well as for patrols and supporting special operations.

'These helicopters are successfully operated in China. This contract confirms our interest in developing mutually beneficial cooperation, and we plan to continue to grow it through additional deliveries and new projects,' Russian Helicopters СEO Alexander Mikheev said.

'Ka-32A11BC helicopters are ideally suited to China's high mountainous regions and heavily built-up urban centres, since they do not need much space to land and are easy to manoeuvre in mountainous and urban high-rise areas,' Russian Helicopters Deputy CEO for Marketing and Business Development Alexander Shcherbinin said.

China's fire-fighting service has considerable experience of using Ka-32A11BC helicopters to fight fires and in search-and-rescue operations. In early January this year the Ka-32A11BC played a crucial role in rescuing passengers from the ice-bound Akademic Shokalsky research ship.

The Ka-32A11BC meets FAR-29 and AP-29 airworthiness standards, and has EASA certification. They are operated successfully in Austria, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Spain, and Switzerland.

Russian Helicopters, (part of State Corporation Rostec), is one of the global leaders in helicopter production and the only helicopter design and production powerhouse in Russia. Russian Helicopters was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Moscow. The company comprises five helicopter production facilities, two design bureaus, a spare parts production and repair facility, as well as an aftersale service branch responsible for maintenance and repair in Russia and all over the world. Its helicopters are popular among Russian ministries and state authorities (Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Emergency Control Ministry), operators (Gazpromavia, UTair), major Russian corporations. In 2014 its IFRS revenues increased 22,8% to RUB 169,8 billion. Deliveries reached 271 helicopters.

State Corporation Rostec is a Russian corporation founded in 2007 for the purpose of promoting the development, production and export of hi-tech civilian and military industry products. It comprises 700 organisations, nine of which have now been formed as holding companies of the military-industrial complex, five of them are involved in civil industries and 22 are directly controlled. Rostec’s portfolio includes recognised brands such as Avtovaz, Kamaz, Russian Helicopters, and VSMPO-AVISMA. Rostec’s organisations are located in 60 constituent entities of the Russian Federation and supply their products to the markets of more than 70 countries. The revenue of Rostec in 2014 amounted to RUB 964.5 billion. The tax deductions into the treasuries at all levels exceeded RUB 147.8 billion.