Russia's Defense Ministry to take delivery of its first Be-200 amphibious aircraft in 2016

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World Defense & Security News - Russia
 
 
Russia's Defense Ministry to take delivery of its first Be-200 amphibious aircraft in 2016
 
The first of six Beriev Be-200 amphibian aircraft in construction for the Russian Defense Ministry under a 2013 contract will have been delivered before year-end 2016, a defense industry source told journalists on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016.
     
Russian Defense Ministry to take delivery of its first Be 200 amphibious aircraft in 2016 640 001A Beriev Be-200ChS multirole amphibious aircraft from the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations
     
"Six aircraft are being built for the Defense Ministry. The first of them will have been delivered by the end of the year, in the fourth quarter. Its final assembly is under way," the source said.

The $106 million order for two baseline Beriev Be-200ChS amphibians and four Be-200PS ones without the fire-suppressant equipment was awarded by the military in 2013. Two more Be-200s were planned for upgrade to airborne command post standard.

The Be-200 features the ability both to land on ground and ice airstrips and to splash down on water. It carries a flight and navigation suite affording it the all-weather operating capability and analyzing, monitoring and recording the status of all airborne systems in flight and on the ground. The Be-200 is fitted with eight water reservoirs under the cargo cabin floor. The aircraft can lift 12 tons of water, scooping it up from rivers or lakes in 12-14 s. The Be-200 is equipped with eight reservoir doors allowing the water to be dumped in salvo or in any given order, which increases the effectiveness of firefighting by far. Its navigation aids enable it to find the seat of fire and brings the aircraft on the next approach to the previous drop point automatically, which is a boon in smoke-heavy environment. When in the transport configuration, the plane can haul 6 tons of cargo to remote areas lacking airfields.
     
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