RIO DE JANEIRO. April 27 (Interfax-AVN) - Brazil plans to procure up to 50 Be-103 amphibious aircraft from Russia over the next decade, Sergei Drobyshev, Deputy Director General of the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association (KnAAPO), told Interfax-Military News Agency at the LAAD 2005 international arms show, being held in Rio de Janeiro.
"The Brazilian MSI Group Company expressed its intent to procure nine Be-103s at the Gelendzhik air show last year. A corresponding memorandum was signed with the Brazilian side. In addition to that, we agreed that the deliveries to Brazil might increase up to 50 aircraft over the next decade," Drobyshev said.
He noted that at the present time the amphibious aircraft was being certified in compliance with Brazilian airworthiness standards. "A delegation of Brazilian aircraft experts visited Taganrog and carried out a number of familiarization flights on the Be-103 jointly with a Russian crew in April. After that Brazilian experts visited Komsomolsk-on-Amur and inspected production facilities, mass-producing the new amphibious aircraft, for a week," he said.
According to Drobyshev, the Be-103's Russian airworthiness certificate may be acknowledged by Brazil as early as late June.
"The next step will consist in developing the contract. At the present time we are discussing a feasibility of leasing two Be-103s to Brazil for six to 12 months to conduct final tests of the aircraft," Drobyshev said.
He pointed out that the KnAAPO production program envisioned building about 350 Be-103s by 2015. "Most of them will be exported," Drobyshev said.
The Be-103 is ideal for operation in Latin America, he emphasized. The demand for the aircraft in Latin America is assessed at up to 100 pieces. "The Be-103 features unrivalled capabilities for the time being. Not a single country produces a six-seat twin-engine amphibious aircraft. Existing aircraft include obsolete U.S. amphibious aircraft, or float versions of ordinary aircraft," he said.
According to Drobyshev, the cost of the baseline Be-103 amounts to about $1 million.
The Be-103 is designed to transport six people (a pilot and five passengers, or two pilots and four passengers). The aircraft has a range of up to 1,100 km and a cruising speed of 240 kmph. The aircraft is capable of conducting flights by day and night. Its navigability equals sea state two.