Rosneft, Rostec and Finmeccanica Agree on Production of AW189 Helicopters in Russia | World Defense

Rosneft, Rostec and Finmeccanica Agree on Production of AW189 Helicopters in Russia

Scorpion

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Rosneft, Rostec and Finmeccanica Agree on Production of AW189 Helicopters in Russia


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Rosneft, Russia's largest offshore oil operator, has signed a deal to buy 160 AW189 helicopters which will be made in Russia by a joint venture with AgustaWestland (AW photo)


Rosneft, Rostec Corporation and Italian group Finmeccanica signed trilateral agreement for strategic partnership. The document was signed by the Head of Rosneft Igor Sechin, Rostec Corporation CEO Sergey Chemezov and the Head of Finmecanica group Mauro Moretti on December 29.

As part of the signed document the parties will establish a Joint Venture (JV) of the Russian Helicopters holding and AgustaWestland (subsidiaries of Rostec and Finmeccanica). The JV will be based on the HeliVert plant situated in the Moscow Region. Rosneft will become a new partner of the Russian-Italian JV. It is planned to launch production of the medium helicopters AW189.

Rosneft will form a bid and become the first customer for the AW189 helicopters. By 2025, HeliVert is envisaged to sell and deliver up to 160 helicopters to Rosneft. In compliance with the reached agreements the assembly, supplies, aftersales service and training of AW189 helicopters will be carried out. As part of the project, localization of the AW189 production is planned to be implemented in stages up to 2025.

Commenting on the signing Rosneft Head Igor Sechin said: ”Offshore projects development is a strategic priority for Rosneft. It is impossible to accomplish this mission without state-of-the-art arctic and marine equipment, oil and gas rigs, modern aeronautical engineering. We are glad to reach these agreements, thanks to which strategic cooperation in such an important area is being created”.

In his turn Sergey Chemezov noted that: “The production of AW189 in Russia will create large opportunities for the continuation of our succesfull cooperation with our Italian partners, Finmeccanica - AgustaWestland. The project will be implemented on the basis of an exclusive license agreement, which gives HeliVert the right to produce such helicopters, their distribution in Russia and the CIS. The participation of the leader of the Russian oil industry, Rosneft, in our project can give a new boost to the development of the joint venture and production expansion”.

BACKGROUND NOTES:

Utility helicopter AW 189 produced by AgustaWestland is referred to super medium category with maximal takeoff mass of 8.3 tonnes. The helicopter is optimized for offshore transport and search and rescue missions. It is also used for transportation carriage, passenger transportation and other shipping operations.

The standard cabin of AW 189 is designed for transportation of 16 people. The maximal cruise speed is 287 km per hour, maximal flying range (with additional tanks) is 600 nautical miles (1111 km).

The start-up of local assembly of the AW189 is a new large-scale project implemented at HeliVert plant. The joint venture has been assembling AW139 6.4-6.8 ton helicopters since June 2012. The locally assembled AW139 made its maiden flight in December 2012. In autumn 2014, Russian Helicopters and AgustaWestland announced the creation of a maintenance and repair centre for AW139 helicopters.

Today, the centre provides a comprehensive maintenance and repair service to various AW139 helicopters produced both in Russia and Italy.

Rosneft, Rostec and Finmeccanica Agree on Production of AW189 Helicopters in Russia
 

weepforsweep

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Russia needs any economic activity it can get. Hopefully, Russia doesn't use these helicopters in warfare.
 
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