Italian company to assemble helicopters in Russia
On Friday, the Russian aerospace holding company Oboronprom and Italy's helicopter giant AgustaWestland will announce a long-term helicopter-assembly project. But analysts said the project was politically motivated.
Oboronprom will sell the entire line of AgustaWestland helicopters worth $400 million euros in Russia in the next five years and will set up a national service center.
In 2010, AW-139 helicopters will be assembled at a plant owned by Russian helicopter giant Kamov in Lyubertsy outside Moscow.
Although an AW-139 helicopter costs about $8.5 million, Russian import duties increase its end price by 40%. The helicopter has a take-off weight of 6.4 metric tons and can carry up to 15 passengers or 2.8 metric tons of freight.
A source close to the talks said the partners had initially advocated equitable cooperation and did not want to relocate helicopter production to Russia.
According to the source, the holding company Russian Helicopters needs new technology and helicopter-service standards for marketing its products worldwide.
He said AgustaWestland wanted to enter the Russian market and had already signed contracts for 20 helicopters.
Vyacheslav Boguslayev, CEO of Ukrainian aircraft-engine manufacture Motor Sich, said the contract stipulated production of a prototype Kamov Ka-62 helicopter seating 16.
He said the AW-139 had a smaller load-carrying capacity and could not operate in Arctic areas.
"This shows that Russia has not yet formulated a clear helicopter industry policy," Boguslayev told the paper.
Oboronprom said the Ka-62 project required substantial investment, and that AgustaWestland would help launch joint production of a similar helicopter until the former model was upgraded.
In 1995, the Italian company and Kamov tried to develop the Ka-64 civilian helicopter but were forced to mothball the project because the Russian side stopped funding.
The politically motivated AW-139 helicopter-assembly project is sponsored by former Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a top manager at a Western aircraft company told the paper.