China and Russia held the seventh round of negotiations recently to cooperate in developing heavy lift helicopters and reached consensus on some core technologies, said Yu Feng, chairman of the AVIC Helicopter Co. Ltd.
The Aviation Industry Corporation of China signed a framework agreement with Russian Helicopters on May 8, 2015 to work together on developing advanced heavy lift helicopters.
This round of negotiation was a significant step in advancing the heavy helicopter program, said Yu, who is attending the annual parliamentary session as a deputy. With support from both sides, the project is going forward as planned.
Heavy helicopters refer to those with a take-off weight of more than 20 tonnes, Yu said, adding that the planned cooperation would fill a blank in China's helicopter family.
A model of the planned chopper was put on display in September 2015 at the Tianjin International Helicopter Exhibition.
With a maximum cruising speed of 300 km per hour and a maximum take-off weight of 38.2 tonnes, the chopper could be used in rescue missions and vehicle transportation, especially in natural disasters and on high altitudes.
