Be-200 looks as though it may have got the long awaited Ministry of Emergency Situations orders

Published: 1/19/2000

The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) appears to be on the verge of making its long awaited decision to buy the three Be-200 amphibians. According to Vladimir Serov of Betair, the Swiss/Russian company responsible for marketing the aircraft, the Ministry intends to commit funds for the aircraft in its 2000 budget. However, the funds allocated, totalling to 450m rubles ($17m), appear to fall well short of the amount required to buy the three aircraft, which are reported to have a price tag of $30m. The money should still help IAPO, the aircraft"s producer, to get production underway and is a slight increase on the funds reportedly allocated in November 1999, by the Minister of Emergency Situations, Sergey Shoigu. The quantity of the potential order has fallen from four aircraft to three. Many observers view the Be-200 as being the aircraft most likely to succeed among Russia"s aerospace products. Despite this slow start, the MES has said it will buy 20 aircraft, should funds become available. The marketers of the aircraft, Betair, are also reported to be in discussion with Bombardier, the Canadian producer of large amphibians, in order to joint venture maintenance and certification of the aircraft in certain markets. Betair claims that interest in the aircraft has also been expressed by a range of customers in Asia.

Article ID: 1331