16 May 2012 saw the Volga-Dnepr carrier receive in Ulyanovsk another Ilyushin Il-76TD-90VD transport aircraft that was given registration number RA-76511. The freighter became the fifth aircraft of the type in the customer’s aircraft fleet and, in all probability, the last Il-76 made by the Tashkent Aircraft Production Corp.

The work on upgrading the Il-76 by powering it with PS-90A-76 turbofan engines and fitting with the up-to-date Kupol-III-76MVD flight navigation suite was initiated by Volga-Dnepr carrier in 2002. In all, the customer ordered five Il-76TD-90VDs with 15 options. The first two aircraft (RA-76950 and RA-76951) entered service in 2006–2007. The construction of the follow-on three was handled in Tashkent under the 2007 contract between Volga-Dnepr-Leasing LLC and UAC – Transport Aircraft JSC. The third Il-76TD-90VD (RA-76952) joined the company’s aircraft fleet in April 2010 and the fourth one (RA-76503) in November 2011.

Russia has retained its competence in manufacturing the world’s largest transport helicopters of the Mi-26 family, which full-rate production is performed by Rostvertol JSC. During 2007–10, three new Mi-26TC helicopters were delivered from Rostov to a Chinese customer that have been using them heavily on fire-fighting, disaster relief and special transport operations. In addition, another three Mi-26Ts were made and delivered to Venezuela during 2007–08.

The Progress Arsenyev Aviation Company, a subsidiary of the Russian Helicopters holding company,  is completing the first flying prototype of the advanced Kamov Ka-62 medium multirole helicopter. Its trials are to kick off later this year, with the aircraft slated for demonstration at the MAKS 2013 air show in August. Details of the implementation of the Ka-62 programme became available during the recent HeliRussia 2013 helicopter industry show at the Moscow’s Crocus Expo exhibition centre in mid-May. It is HeliRussia 2012 that was the venue the first Ka-62 full-scale mock-up was unveiled at. Later on, the mock-up was a success at the air show in Farnborough in July last year.

The Ansat light multipurpose helicopter powered by Canadian-made PW207K engines has been in full-rate production by Kazan Helicopters since 2004. The first six production-standard machines have been exported to South Korea, two have been delivered to the Russian Federal Security Service Aviation Department, a medevac version to the Kazan Air Detachment, a flying testbed to Radar-MMS company and a patrol aircraft to Tatarstan’s police.

At the HeliRussia 2013 show last month, there was the debut of the first production-standard Kamov Ka-226T helicopter (c/n 10-02) built earlier this year in the medevac variant for the Russian Emergencies Ministry. The aircraft is earmarked for delivery this autumn, after its certification has been completed. Before year-end, the Russian Emergencies Ministry may take delivery of the second Ka-226T as well. Both machines will fly search-and-rescue and medevac missions in support of the winter Olympics in Sochi in February 2014.