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 The Ansat helicopter powered by Canadian-built PW207K engines and equipped with the innovative KSU-A fly-by-wire control system have been in production at the Kazan Helicopters plant since 2004. The first six machines have been exported to South Korea, two have been delivered to the Aviation Department of the Russian Federal Security Service, one (a medevac version) has gone to the Kazan Aviation Enterprise and one has been received by Radar-MMS company in the flying testbed variant.
The Ansat-U trainer version with redundant controls and wheeled undercarriage, which development had been ordered by the Russian Air Force and which official trials had been completed in November 2008, entered full-rate production in 2009. The first six aircraft of the type were delivered in December 2009. Three of them were brought to the Combat Training and Conversion Centre (CTCC) in Torzhok, while the other three were in autumn 2010 given to the Syzran Affiliate of the Air Force Military Training and Scientific Centre (the former Syzran Air Force Academy) specialising in training helicopter pilots for the Russian Air Force. To date, the Defence Ministry has taken delivery of as many as 18 production-standard Ansat-Us. The deliveries under the contract until 2018 are under way at a rate of six machines a year, on average.
During 2007–10, Kazan Helicopters did quite job to improve the FBW control system-fitted baseline model due to the emergence of more specific certification requirements. The efforts resulted in the Ansat-K variant that was issued a limited operation certificate in March 2010, clearing it for cargo carriage and air operations, except for passenger services. One Ansat-K was delivered to the Tatarstan Police Air Detachment in 2011.
The development of a version with the hydraulic-mechanical control system, initially designated as Ansat-1M, kicked off at about the same time. Two prototypes were manufactured. The first prototype has been in ground trials since 2011, and the second entered flight tests in May 2012. Once the new Ansat version has been certificated, it will be offered to potential customers. Kazan Helicopters presumes the output and delivery volume of the Ansat’s commercial versions may total 20 aircraft a year in the future.
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