Russia’s Rostec announced that Russian Helicopters is part of a deal between Rostec and Industrial Development and Renovation Organization (IDRO) of Iran. The deal announced is a cooperation in setting up a joint venture for assembling light civil helicopters manufactured in Russia which may take place in Iran.
The MoU was signed by CEO of Russian Helicopters Andrey Boginsky and Chairman of the Board of Directors of IDRO Mansour Moazami. The document is aimed at promoting cooperation between Russia and Iran as part of the program on upgrading Iran’s helicopter fleet. Russian Helicopters intends to exploit the potential for cooperation with IDRO for developing its business in the Middle East.
“We see that the demand for light helicopters is high in Iran, and the country needs them for the use in the interests of civil authorities. The joint venture of Russia and Iran considers assembling light Ka-226 or Ansat helicopters. At present, the negotiations on this issue continue. The Memorandum signed today implies that a fully fledged cooperation agreement will be concluded as soon as possible,” said Andrey Boginsky.
Iran has over 50 helicopters manufactured in Russia and demand for the Mi-17 helicopter remains the highest. The country uses almost the whole range of helicopters of this type: Mi-17, Mi-171, Mi-171E, Mi-8MTV and Mi-17V-5. These medium-class helicopters are used for law enforcement and serve the military.
This news follows publication yesterday of the ongoing attempts by Russia to sell its SuperJet in Iran. Notice the mention of helicopters in that story. There may be a combination deal in the works as the Iranians have shied away from SuperJet since sanctions were eased. However, Iran still has not made any public orders for aircraft of the size of the SuperJet.  Embraer is confident and there have been rumors, but nothing tangible.
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