Published: 5/22/1998

Irkut Aircraft Production Association (IAPO), also known as Irkut factory, has rolled out the first prototype of the Beriev Be-200 amphibian aircraft, and it will soon make its maiden flight. AVPK Sukhoi aviation military industrial complex, which includes both the IAPO and Beriev design bureaux as its members, holds a contract for seven Be-200s from MChS, the Ministry for Emergencies of the Russian Federation. Primarily, MChS' Be-200s will be used as fire-fighters and search-and-rescue aircraft. The Be-200, whose design was started in 1990, is a scaled-down version of the Beriev A-40 Albatros designed for rescue and anti-submarine operations in the open sea. Its financing is a mixed one. According to an AVPK Sukhoi spokesman, about 17% of all investment received so far comes from the Russian state budget. In an effort to attract foreign and local investors, Beriev and IAPO founded ZAO Beta Air joint stock company, together with AKIPB of the Ukraine and ILTA Trade of Geneva. Several prominent Russian financiers have contributed to the Be-200 project, including UNEXIM and MENATEP banks, both based in Moscow. The latter agreed to provide $10m for IAPO; the agreement was announced earlier this year. This money is considered to be enough to put the first prototype in the air and carry out its test programme. Before that, UNEXIM bank provided IAPO with a long-term loan worth $70m for the construction of the Su-30K and Be-200 first prototypes. Although the project has had some ups and downs, it has been going faster than any of the other aircraft programmes in the CIS. The fuselage of the first prototype was completed during the winter of 1995/96, but then the pace of work slowed down. Originally, Beriev and IAPO intended to display the first prototype in the air at Gelendjik '96 hydroaviation show in September 1996, but financial difficulties delayed its debut to the first half of 1998. The Be-200 is powered by two Motor-SICH/ZMKB Progress D-436 engines, giving the 36 tonne aircraft a top speed of 720km/h and cruise altitude of 11,000 m. Normally, the aircraft would carry an 8 tonne commercial load, but in some cases it can be increased up to 12 tonnes. The aircraft is fitted with the ARIA-200 navigation suite, developed by ARIA (American-Russian Integrated Avionics), which is a joint venture between AlliedSignal and GosNIIAS, the State Scientific Research Institute of Aviation Systems. In the fire-fighting role the Be-200 can drop 320 tonnes of water onto a forest fire located within a 10km radius of a reservoir. Water tanks, located under the floor of the cargo cabin, can accommodate 12,000 litres of water. It takes the Be-200 only 12 seconds to fill them up using "scooping run" technology. To increase effectiveness of fire-fighting, the plane carries foam-producing chemicals in its cargo cabin. The state-of-the-art ARIA-200 avionics suite provides automatic flight to the nearest reservoir and then back to the fire, including automatic descent to the water surface. Also, it helps the crew co-ordinate efforts with other fire-fighter aircraft in the area. Using a satellite global-positioning system allows the aircraft to determine water-drop points automatically, to avoid "bombing" of already extinguished areas. According to the contract with MChS, signed on 15 January 1997, the first Be-200 should be delivered to the customer by the end of this year. Except for the primary fire-fighting role, MChS aircraft will also be employed in search-and-rescue, medical evacuation and cargo missions. In the future, Beriev plans to develop a passenger version of the plane and a freighter for operations in the areas lacking a developed network of paved aerodromes. The passenger version, called Be-200M, will be able to carry 60-70 passengers 2,200km. Also planned is a military version, the Be-200P, for anti-submarine warfare missions, within a combat radius of 4,700km. Gennady Panatov, general designer at Beriev, says the Be-200 can be sold in large numbers to South America and Southeast Asia as a cheap alternative to conventional commuter aircraft. Using the Be-200 would eliminate the need to build a network of airports on numerous populated islands in the Pacific Rim. For foreign customers the Be-200 will be offered with BR.715 engines from BMW/Rolls-Royce. Tentatively, the Be-200 is priced at $20m in the standard configuration with D-436T engines.(IN598.3) (VK)  

Article ID: 158