Russia to Commence Production of world’s heaviest transport helicopter in 2022
Mi-26T2V heavy transport helicopter
The permission for the mass production of the world’s heaviest Mi-26T2V military transport helicopter will be obtained by the yearend, CEO of the Russian Helicopters rotorcraft manufacturer (part of the state tech corporation Rostec) said Andrei Boginsky.
“We are now at the final stage of getting the O1 designation for the helicopter’s baseline configuration and there are a few flights remaining to wrap up the Mi-26T2V’s flight tests. We expect to perform these flights by the end of the year and get the O1 code. We have already delivered the first batches of the Mi-26T2V helicopter to the Russian troops,” the chief executive said.
The upgraded Mi-26T2V helicopter performed its debut flight in August 2018. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko said in March 2019 that the ministry would buy 10 of the helicopters.
The Mi-26T2V is a heavy large-fuselage military transport helicopter with a lifting capacity of 20 tonnes.
The rotorcraft is outfitted with an integrated NPK90-2V avionics suite that provides for its operation day and night to fly in an automatic control mode, reach a preset point and perform approach maneuvers. The defensive aids suite shields the Mi-26T2V from air defense missile systems. The upgraded helicopter has a crew of five.
The Indian Air force too had been operating four Mi 26 helicopters from 1985 onwards with their 126 Helicopter Flight. one of them had a crash a few years back and two more completed their technical life in 2014 itself. A report says that they have been sent for up gradation.
The flight has received 4x Chinooks and has been operating them along with the remaining Mi26. Well the IAF must be looking into this new version of the world’s heaviest lift helicopter. Getting another four of them may not be a bad idea.
These Mi26 helicopters has carried out extensive flood relief operations and other such Humanitarian Relief operations. Earlier it played an important role in consolading Siachen and later during Kargil war.
It also did a commendable job by laying out the roads in Anini sector in the east which earlier was totally air maintained.
The flight had prevented another Bhopal like disastrous by quickly airlifting Diesel Generators, to ensure continued cooling of the Ammonia Storage tanks at the Paradeep Phosphates Limited plant in Odisha. The Kazigund –Srinagar- Baramula rail line is today functional because of initial airlift of many of the critical items required for the project.
