MOSCOW. Dec 10 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian BE-200ChS amphibian has been awarded at the Seoul-2002 international innovation show, Mikhail Faleyev, deputy Russian emergencies minister, told Interfax-Military News Agency Tuesday.
"The BE-200ChS, unlike the experimental aircraft, has been constructed to meet the requirements of the Emergencies Ministry. The new amphibian is fitted with special S&R equipment including the Orion-25S inflatable dinghy to rescue those wrecked on water," Faleyev said.
According to him, the first aircraft is also equipped with the state-of-the-art ARIA-200M navigation system, as well as aerial observation AOS and loudspeaker SGU-600 systems. The cargo cabin had blister units for visual aerial surveillance.
"The ministry's aviation units is to have obtained seven such aircraft by 2006, with their probable assignment to the Gelendzhik and Kaliningrad region maritime rescue centers," Faleyev said.
According to Faleyev, the aircraft designed by the Taganrog- based Beriyev aircraft plant to meet the requirements of the Emergencies Ministry is now serial-produced at the Irkutsk Aircraft Building Association. The practical flight training of the personnel will begin in Taganrog in 2003, Faleyev said.
He also said that practically all European rescue services, including those of Germany, Greece, and France, as well as those of Australia and South Korea, had revealed interest in the aircraft, while the domestic demand is estimated at 115 pieces up to 2010.