Russia to offer Be-200 aircraft to Indian Coast Guard - Rosoboronexport
BANGALORE, India. Feb 7 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia may offer Beriyev Be-200 amphibious aircraft at the forthcoming Indian Interior Ministry tender for patrol aircraft, Rosoboronexport Deputy General Director Viktor Komardin told reporters at the Aero India 2013 show on Thursday.
"We are awaiting a tender of the Indian Interior Ministry's Coast Guard for aircraft to patrol the maritime airspace and the coastal zone. We will offer Beriyev Be-200 aircraft," he said.
The amphibious planes' payload will be a subject of negotiations with India, he said.
The Beriyev Taganrog Aircraft Plant designed the multirole amphibious Be-200. The aircraft has an airtight hull, which significantly broadens the range of its missions. The basic aircraft was designed to put out forest fires with liquids or water. The aircraft is also capable of passenger and cargo transportation, research-and-rescue missions, environmental monitoring and patrolling of the maritime economic zone and sea borders.
Be-200 can dump up to 320 tons of water over a fire before it needs refueling and take the water from airfield reservoirs or from a water pond. The cruise speed is 530 kilometers per hour, the operational limit is 8,000 meters and the flight rage in the fire-fighting modification (with one-hour fuel reserves) is 3,600 kilometers.
