ASTANA – Eurocopter Kazakhstan Engineering Company is the only Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) plant for the assembly of EC-145 helicopters. Since its establishment, the plant has supplied the Kazakh domestic market with 20 of these helicopters, including 14 helicopters for the Ministry of Emergencies and six for the Defence Ministry.
Eurocopter Kazakhstan Engineering is a joint venture established in April 2011 upon the initiative of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and then French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The project is carried out on a 50-50 basis by the Kazakhstan Engineering National Company and the Airbus Helicopters.
On the eve of the international exhibition of arms and military equipment KADEX 2014, scheduled for May 22-25 in Astana, Eurocopter Kazakhstan Engineering organised a press tour of the plant for the media.
Today, the factory carries out semi knocked down assemblage of helicopters, painting, installation of medical equipment, configuration and testing of connected devices and systems and ground and flight tests. Local involvement in the assemblage will gradually increase and in the future, the factory plans to install dynamical systems, engines, gearboxes, radio navigation equipment, antennas on the tail boom, avionics and wiring systems. Localisation of production is expected to reach 30 percent over the next six years.
Specialists note the helicopter’s fuel efficiency as one of its advantages. Its fuel consumption is about 220 litres per hour. Its range is 715 kilometres, its maximum speed 278 kilometres per hour and its payload is 1,793 kilogrammes. There is enough space in the aircraft to place eight equipped soldiers and additional medical equipment. Moreover, the EU-145 has one of the most reliable security systems is the world.
In parallel with the production, the company trains technicians, avionics and pilots in Russian and English on the territory of CIS and Central Asian countries.
The international exhibition of arms and military equipment KADEX 2014 will allow the enterprise to present its product, both to domestic and foreign consumers. Kazakhstan’s partners in the Customs Union from Belarus, as well as representatives of the Central Asian republics, have shown interest in acquiring helicopters assembled in Kazakhstan.
