Russian Helicopters To Continue Rotorcraft Industry Modernization

Russian Helicopters is continuing to modernize its production capacity under the Federal Targeted Programme Developing the Military Industrial Complex in the Russian Federation 2011-2020.

In this latest phase of modernization, the Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant, a Russian Helicopters company, is launching a programme to re-tool and upgrade its production facilities. The first stage involves modernizing and expanding production of protective coatings.

“Project development on this started in 2013, due to the need to upgrade the technical equipment at the Plant in order to increase efficiency and to ensure the products made were of the highest possible quality,” Russian Helicopters CEO Alexander Mikheev said. “This technological upgrade will see the plant equipped with the necessary technological resources to launch serial production of our new multirole Mi-171A2 helicopter.”

Launching protective coating production involves the comprehensive modernisation of key parts of the manufacturing process, such as chemical processing and the application of chemical, electro-chemical and paint coatings on helicopter components. Project implementation will involve re-tooling the plant’s production base, purchasing and installing technological and auxiliary equipment, and carrying out design and survey work. This will optimise processes, reduce load flow, implement the latest technical control parameters, and improve environmental safety levels.

This complex technological modernisation programme has been underway at Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant for 5 years. The purchase and installation of Russian and Western-made new generation production equipment has been ongoing since 2009. Over 2.5 billion roubles have been channelled into this over the 2009-2013 period.

Modernising production is a priority development area for Russian Helicopters. Russian Helicopters started implementing this project in late 2008, and has invested significant resources in achieving this goal. In the first six months of 2013, the holding's capital outlay on modernisation rose 46.7% on the same period the previous year to reach 8.3 billion roubles. Of this sum, 4.3 billion roubles were dedicated to modernising production.

Russian Helicopters' key projects in this area include establishing a specialised machine processing centre at the Kazan Helicopters helicopter factory, re-tooling the Reductor-PM component manufacturing facility in Perm, building a unique casting centre at the Progress Arsenyev Aviation Company in the Far East, as well as upgrading the technological resource base and opening new dynamic laboratory testing and anodising facilities at the Rosvertol helicopter facility at Rostov on Don.

In total, in 2013, Russian Helicopters holdings installed over 800 new pieces of machinery and carried out about 100 initiatives aimed at making us more eco-friendly and improving safety.