MOSCOW. Feb 9 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia's Irkut corporation and California-based Hawkins & Powers have signed a protocol on intentions regarding the supply of eight BE-200 amphibious planes to the U.S., the corporation's press service reported on Monday.
Hawkins & Powers is planning to use the Russian-made planes for fighting forest fires on the U.S. West Coast, a press service official told Interfax-Military News Agency. The BE-200s will be powered by Rolls Royce BR715 engines. Their supplies will begin in 2007.
"We are glad that the unique BE-200 program is developing successfully and gaining world recognition. This is largely a reflection of our strategy aimed at diversifying production and expanding the range of civilian and dual-purpose aircraft. The BE- 200 will considerably increase our stock of orders that currently exceeds USD4bn," Irkut President Alexei Fyodorov said.
The protocol was signed with the support of EADS North America and Rolls Royce in the framework of an agreement between those two companies and Irkut on promotion of the BE-200 and its after-sales servicing on the global market using the available EADS network. A research into the plane's marketing potential performed by Irkut jointly with EADS and Rolls Royce showed that the potential demand for the BE-200 amounts to 320 items in 25 countries for the next 20 years.
The press service official said that the agreement also outlines cooperation in the BE-200 certification in accordance with European (JAR) and U.S. (FAR) aircraft standards. Technical study into the installation of Rolls Royce BR715 engines in the amphibian aircraft has been completed.
Irkut is supplying the first seven mass produced BE-200s to the Emergencies Ministry in the framework of a contract signed in 2001. The first mass produced aircraft was handed over to the ministry in June 2003. The second one is supposed to become operational in late February 2004, and the entire order is to be done before the end of 2005.
The BE-200 is capable to take in up to 12t of water many times while hydroplaning, to deliver it to the fire scene and drop it, using precision-guided navigation and flight control systems. Thanks to the hermetic fuselage, the BE-200 can be easily transformed into a passenger or cargo variety. The BE-200 multipurpose amphibious aircraft was designed by the Beriev aircraft research and technical corporation based in Taganrog and is mass produced by the Irkut corporation that owns 39.6 percent of the Beriev corporation's shares.
Hawkins & Powers is a leading U.S. fire-fighting company.
Irkut is an integrated holding company which specializes in developing and producing SU planes. The company's stock of orders includes contracts for the supply of SU-30MKI fighters to India and SU-30MKM fighters to Malaysia, as well as a contract for the supply of seven BE-200s to the Emergencies Ministry.