Mi-26Ts and Ka-32A11BC Helicopters Extinguish a Major Forest Fire in China

Sept. 27, 2017
The Mi-26Ts helicopter produced by Russian Helicopters (part of the Rostec State Corporation) supplied to China in the summer of 2016 extinguished a major forest fire near Dzianide, in Zhejiang province, Republic of China.

The Mi-26Ts helicopter produced by Russian Helicopters (part of the Rostec State Corporation) supplied to China in the summer of 2016 extinguished a major forest fire near Dzianide, in Zhejiang province, Republic of China. The Ka-32 helicopter of the local fire station was also involved in the operation. The fire was extinguished within several hours.

The fire occurred 60 km from a settlement in a mountainous area, therefore, access for ground transport was hampered. The Mi-26Ts and Ka-32 helicopters promptly flew to the fire site and threw more than 250 tons of water on the fire. Within several hours, the fire was fully extinguished. The neighbouring settlements did not suffer.

"We are happy that our equipment performed commendably in the emergency situation. China has traditionally demonstrated interest in Russian fire fighting helicopters, and the experience has shown that this choice is justified in actual operational conditions,” said Alexander Shcherbinin, Deputy CEO for marketing and business development, Russian Helicopters.

Mi-26Ts (certified according to the flight standards of China) is the world’s heaviest serially produced helicopter. It can carry the total maximum payload of up to 20 tons in the transport cabin or on the external sling. The helicopter has proven its efficiency during suppression of major fire spots in the PRC on numerous occasions. The main objective of Mi-26Ts in emergency response is to deliver special-purpose machinery and fire brigades to the fire point and throw water on the burning forested area.

Ка-32А11ВС is a medium multirole coaxial helicopter designed for complicated fire suppression assignments, search and rescue operations, evacuation of patients and injured persons and patrolling and support of operations of intelligence services. The fire fighting Ка-32А11ВС has more than 40 fire fighting equipment options, including Bambi-Bucket and Simplex systems, water cannons for horizontal fire suppression.

At present, the State Forestry Administration of China operates four Mi-26Ts and 15 Ka-32A11BC helicopters. They serve successfully and take part in forest fire fighting every year.

JSC Russian Helicopters (part of Rostec State Corporation) is one of the world leaders in helicopter industry, the only developer and manufacturer of helicopters in Russia. The holding company was established in 2007. The head office is located in Moscow. The holding company is comprised of five helicopter plants, two design bureaus, enterprises for production and maintenance of components, aircraft repair plants and a service company providing after-sales support in Russia and abroad. Among the buyers of the holding company's products are the Defense Ministry of Russia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, EMERCOM of Russia, and other state customers, Gazprom Avia and UTair airlines, as well as major Russian and foreign companies. In 2016, the revenue of Russian Helicopters under IFRS amounted to RUB 214.3 billion, its shipments totaled to 189 helicopters.

Rostec Corporation is a Russian corporation that was established in 2007 to facilitate the development, production and export of high-tech industrial products designed for civilian and military applications. The Corporation comprises over 700 organizations that are currently part of eleven holding companies operating in the military-industrial complex and three holding companies working in civilian industry, as well as 80 directly managed organizations. Rostec's portfolio includes well-known brands such as AVTOVAZ, KAMAZ, Concern Kalashnikov, Russian Helicopters, VSMPO AVISMA, UralVagonZavod, etc. Rostec companies are located in 60 constituent entities of the Russian Federation and supply products to the markets of more than 70 countries. In 2016 the consolidated revenue of Rostec reached 1 trillion 266 billion rubles, while the consolidated net income and EBITDA amounted to 88 and 268 billion rubles respectively. In 2016 the average salary in the Corporation was 44 thousand rubles. According to Rostec's strategy, the main objective of the Corporation is to ensure that Russia has a technological advantage in highly competitive global markets. Rostec's key objectives include the introduction of a new techno-economic paradigm and digitalization of Russian economy.