Russian natural gas giant Gazprom has secured options on the first 50 Kamov Ka-226A helicopters, powered by 335kW (450shp) Rolls-Royce 250-C20R engines, in a deal worth about $70 million.
Kamov general designer Sergei Mikheyev describes the deal as an "option" agreement. It calls for early Gazprom payments to fund outstanding development and certification work in exchange for a lower unit price and first refusal on the machines.
Certification of the Ka-226 to Russian AP-29 airworthiness requirements started earlier this year and will be completed in 2002.
Kamov also has orders from the Russian ministry of state emergencies (MChS) for five Ka-226ChS search and rescue helicopters. The ministry agreed in 1997 to fund Ka-226 development and it could soon join the "option" agreement, says Mikheyev.
MChS is expected to order further Ka-226s and the Moscow city government is also likely to place an order, taking the backlog to 100. The Russian army could select the Ka-226 as a basic trainer. A military prototype was on display at MAKS 2001.
Kamov is also considering developing a "no-thrills" Ka-226 aimed at training schools and is hoping to reduce the machine's price to make it comparable with used Western-built helicopters.
He says two production lines at the Strela factory in Orenburg and the Kumertau Aircraft Production Enterprise (KUMAPE) in Kumertau are nearly complete and will each produce a helicopter by the end of this year.
Source: Flight International
