Rostec reveals new alpine helicopter

Russian Helicopters, a subsidiary of Rostec State Corporation, has unveiled its newest modification of the light Ka-226T helicopter.

A key feature of the new modified helicopter is its ease of flight in high mountains regions, hence its working name ‘Alpinist’ (Climber).

The aircraft has coaxial rotors, which ensures good control at the most extreme heights and in rarefied air, crosswind stability, high rate of climb and the possibility of taking off and landing on sites located very high.

It is also capable of taking off and landing on the deck of even small vessels.

The helicopter has a new glider-like design with considerably better aerodynamics. It will be able to fly for longer, have a lower weight and will be capable of operation at heights of up to 6,500 meters.

The fuselage is made of modern light materials, the control system and power system of the helicopter have been upgraded and a shock- and crash-resistant fuel system is installed.

Test flights will commence in autumn and serial production is expected to start in 2022.

According to Shephard Defence Insight, in 2020 Rosoboronexport announced that it had created a joint Russian-Indian enterprise for the production of Ka-226T.