Russia will hold a presentation of Be-200 amphibious aircraft in Thailand on May 24, Russian Minister of Industry Denis Manturov said on Wednesday.
“Colleagues from UAC [United Aircraft Corporation] will present Be-200 aircraft in Thailand on May 24 in cooperation with Rosoboronexport, the special exporter. I will additionally task UAC to present Tu-214 aircraft that can be used for medical purposes and Il-76 aircraft for emergencies and disaster relief. This is a cargo aircraft that can be used for various purposes,” Manturov said.
The Beriev Be-200 is a multipurpose amphibious aircraft manufactured by Russia-based Irkut. The aircraft was developed under Irkut’s first full-scale civil programme. The Be-200 cooperation programme includes key aviation industry companies such as Beriev Aircraft, Airbus, EADS-Irkut Seaplane (EISP) and EADS.
The Be-200 can be configured for fire fighting, search and rescue, maritime patrol and environmental monitoring, cargo and passenger transportation operations. It can take off and land on unprepared airstrips and water.
The first Be-200 test aircraft completed its maiden flight in September 1998. Be-200ES, the first production aircraft, touched the skies in June 2003. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (Emercom) was the first customer to receive an aircraft in July 2003 under seven Be-200 fire-fighting and rescue aircraft order. The Ministry of Emergencies, Azerbaijan, took the delivery of one Be-200ES aircraft in 2008.