Taganrog, Russia, 12 January 2017 — PJSC Beriev, an UAC subsidiary, delivered the first production amphibian Be-200ES to the EMERCOM of Russia. The aircraft named after a renowned naval pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union, Alexander Razgonin, successfully passed pre-delivery and acceptance tests, including take-offs and landings on the Black sea, as well as water scooping and dropping.
At the end of 2016, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation granted a budgetary subsidy to PJSC “Beriev” in the amount of 3.5 billion roubles to reduce its debt load and ensure financial stability. “We are seeing that the company is achieving a stable production rate. The state support given to the company on behalf of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation allowed the company to successfully carry out the production program and meet liabilities to the customers”, stated Denis Manturov, the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
Yury Grudinin, PJSC “Beriev” Director General, said that currently there are four Be-200ES amphibians in final assembly in various stages of completion being produced under the Contract with the EMERCOM of Russia. The second aircraft will soon start its required flight tests and ground checks. Four more aircraft should be handed over to the customer by the end of 2017.
Based on operation experience and in compliance with additional customer requirements the Be-200ES during the transfer of serial production to Taganrog has been seriously modernized: the aircraft is now fitted with upgraded avionics equipment; changes have been made to the airframe structure, and a number systems have been sourced from Russian suppliers.
The Be-200ES amphibian proved itself during rescue operations in European countries, as well as in Indonesia and Israel. The aircraft has good export potential and attracts interest of foreign customers. Memorandums on aircraft delivery to Thailand, China, Kazakhstan, and Vietnam were signed in 2016. Negotiations are in progress with several countries in the Asia-Pacific Region and in the European Union, interest in the Russian amphibian has been demonstrated by the USA as well. The first Taganrog-produced Be-200ES will be operated in the Southern regional center of the EMERCOM of Russia. After the handover ceremony the Be-200ES amphibian flew over to its permanent deployment base in Rostov-on-Don. Besides Russia, only Canada today manufactures amphibians for emergency situations. <>
