Russia May Prepone Supply of Ka-226T Helicopters to India

Russia’s state hi-tech corporation Rostec is expecting to start initial deliveries of 10 Kamov Ka-226T helicopters to India by this year once it receives the payment.

"We are planning to deliver the first batch of 10 helicopters after we receive the first payment. We are discussing with the Defense Ministry of India when the first payment will be made. We hope that this will be done this year," the Russian Helicopters press office said Tuesday.

Earlier in February, the company had announced its plans to start initial deliveries of military helicopters to India in 2019. Under the $1-billion deal in which India will be buying 200 Ka-226Ts from Russia, 60 will be procured in fly-away condition while 140 will be produced in India in collaboration with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

Last week, HAL officials visited Moscow to have a meeting with Rosoboronexport, Russia’s sole defence trade agency. They discussed the payment timeline, localisation of Ka-226T, location of the proposed manufacturing plant and terms for transfer of technology (ToT), Hindu Business Line reports.

In December 2015, at the Indo-Russia summit in Moscow, an inter-governmental agreement was signed for implementation of the project for production of KA-226T helicopters in India.

The Ka-226T light multirole helicopter with a coaxial rotor system has a maximum takeoff weight of 3.4 tonnes and is capable of carrying up to 1.5 tonnes of cargoes or up to seven passengers to a distance of 600 km.