Russia, China to Close Joint Helicopter Construction Deal in May

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Tuesday that the Chinese are “very interested” in the project and both sides are ready to sign final agreement.

HANGZHOU (Sputnik) – Russia and China plan on signing a final agreement in May after “dotting all the i’s” in the joint construction of a series of helicopters, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Tuesday.

“Yesterday, we agreed on the final details with this big project…Therefore, we hope that already in May we will dot all the i’s and sign the final document,” Rogozin said after a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang in Eastern China.

Rogozin added that the Chinese are “very interested” in the project and are one of the main investors in it. According to Rogozin, the project is seen as a commercial deal.

“We have informed the Chinese side that today Russia’s aviation engine construction has the ability to build an engine that may be used in the Russian-Chinese helicopter,” Rogozin said.

Last year Rogozin said the modernization of the Russian Mi-26 Halo helicopter would make the aircraft lighter, but its cargo capacity would retain its prior limits of up to 15 metric tons.