16 Jun 17. Rostec Plans to Sign the Contract for Russian-Chinese Heavy-Lift Helicopter Before the End of 2017. Rostec may sign the contract with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) for the Advanced Heavy Lifter (AHL), a heavy-lift helicopter to be developed jointly by Russia and China, before the end of this year. This was announced by Victor Kladov, Director for International Cooperation and Regional Policy of Rostec, at the Fourth China-Russia Expo in Harbin (China).
“Negotiations on the conceptual model and configuration have been completed. At present, the draft contract between the parties is being prepared. We hope to sign the contract before the end of the year,” stated Mr. Kladov. “Russian Helicopters, our subsidiary, is actively negotiating with our Chinese partners in this regard.”
The AHL is being developed jointly by Russian Helicopters and Avicopter, a Chinese company forming part of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). It is expected that the maximum takeoff weight of the aircraft will total 38.2 tons, while its service ceiling will total 5,700 meters. The helicopter will have a range of up to 630 kilometers, while its maximum speed will amount to 300 kph. The AHL’s payload inside the cabin will total 10 tons, while its external payload will total up to 15 tons. Rostec Corporation is a Russian corporation that was established in 2007 to facilitate the development, production and export of high-tech industrial products designed for civilian and military applications. Rostec comprises over 700 organizations that are currently part of eleven defense holding companies as well as 80 directly-managed organizations. In 2016 the consolidated revenue of Rostec reached 1trn 266bn rubles, while the consolidated net income and EBITDA amounted to 88 and 268bn rubles respectively. (Source: defense-aerospace.com/Rostec)
16 Jun 17. Saudi-led coalition confirms missile attack on UAE ship. The Saudi-led coalition confirmed on 15 June that Yemeni rebels fired a guided missile at a ship from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as it departed the southern Red Sea port of Al-Mukha.
The official Saudi Press Agency reported a coalition statement as saying the missile was fired from a boat and injured one crew member, but did not damage the ship, which it did not identify.
The General Command of the UAE Armed Forces released a statement saying the missile was fired at an Emirati aid ship that was carrying medical equipment, the UAE’s official WAM news agency reported.
Pro-rebel media channels reported on 14 June that a coalition warship was targeted with a missile as it carried out “hostile acts” off the Al-Mukha coast.
The pro-rebel Al-Masirah TV released a video the following day purportedly showing the missile hitting the ship at night. Neither the vessel nor the missile could be identified from the footage.
The rebels have previously carried out anti-ship missile attacks from the Al-Mukha coastline, including one that hit the UAE’s high-speed logistic vessel Swift on 1 October 2016. In an apparent attempt to end this threat, Emirati and allied Yemeni forces launched an offensive up Yemen’s southern Red Sea coast at the beginning of this year, securing Al-Mukha in February. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
16 Jun 17. Russia says US has deployed HIMARS to southeast Syria. The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on 15 June that the United States had deployed two M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) from Jordan to Al-Tanf, a flashpoint area in southeast Syria.
Close to both the Jordanian and Iraqi borders, Al-Tanf is the location of a remote base where US-led coalition forces are supporting Syrian rebel groups that have clashed with pro-government forces advancing into the area since May.
The MoD said the HIMARS does not have the range to support the coalition-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) offensive against Islamic State forces in Al-Raqqah and that it is “not difficult to assume”