MOSCOW. March 24 (Interfax) - Sergei Chemezov, CEO of the state corporation Rostec, and Rustam Minnikhanov, head of Russia's internal republic of Tatarstan, have visited aircraft-building plants in the city of Kazan in order to assess their potential to produce more military and civilian aircraft, Rostec said in a statement on Friday.
"During their visit to the Kazan Aircraft Production Association, a branch of PJSC Tupolev (part of the United Aircraft Corporation), the delegation assessed the process of large-scale measures aimed at modernization and technical upgrade of the enterprise to boost the output of the Tu-214 civilian airliner and the Tu-160 heavy strategic bomber," the statement said.
The facility produces the upgraded Tu-160M bomber. "The upgraded version possesses substantially broader fighting capabilities, and considerable potential has been laid down in them. Subsequent development of the platform will enable its use for new types of weapon, including those currently under development," it said.
The delegation also visited the Kazan helicopter plant, where Chemezov inspected the process of import-substitution of foreign systems for the Ansat helicopter. The discussion centered around the topic of replacing a Canadian engine with the Russian-made VK-650V made by the ODK-Klimov, the press service said.