BAS-200 (unmanned helicopter)

The main articles are:

• Unmanned aerial vehicle (drone, UAV)
• Unmanned aerial vehicles in Russia

2023

Use within WO

The helicopter-type drone will BAS-200 be used as part of a special operation in Ukraine. This was announced on August 7, 2023 at a meeting with President RFVladimir Putin by the head of the Rostec state corporation Sergei Chemezov. According to him, the relevant tests are already being carried out by Rostec.

As the top manager specified, the take-off weight of the BAS-200 is 200 kilograms, and the payload is 50 kilograms. In December 2022, the device was tested over the Arctic Circle, that is, at temperatures over 50 degrees, and it showed itself very well.

And, of course, we will use this helicopter in the SVO. We are conducting tests, I think that it can also show itself well, because 50 kilograms is lifting, that is, the payload is quite good, - added Sergey Chemezov[1].

Launch of serial production of helicopter-type UAVs BAS-200

Holding "Russian helicopters State Corporation" Rostec organized Bashkortostan the serial production of the first domestic certified unmanned aviation system helicopter type - BAS-200. Representatives of Rostec reported this TAdviser on June 15, 2023. The assembly of serial samples BAS-200 started at (Kumertau Aviation Production Enterprise KumAPP) of the Helicopters holding. Russia

Mass production of the first domestic unmanned helicopter has started in Russia
Photo: Rostec

According to representatives of the Rostec aviation complex, the BAS-200 can carry out various tasks, including: transportation of goods, including in hard-to-reach areas, search and rescue, geological exploration, air patrol of forestry, monitoring of linear facilities - highways and railways, pipelines and power lines. At the same time, it is possible to install a wide range of equipment on an unmanned helicopter - for example, a gravimeter, magnetometer, spectrometer, gyro-stabilized optical-electronic system, etc. It has performed well in trials, including in the harsh weather conditions of the Far North.

Many regions of the country are showing interest in the device, - noted in the holding "Helicopters of Russia." - Serial production of BAS-200 at KumAPP in the future will allow to close the needs for these UAVs.

BAS-200 was developed by the M.L. Mile and N.I. Kamov National Center for Helicopter Engineering. The drone is designed according to the classic single-screw scheme, equipped with a rotary-piston engine. The unmanned aircraft system consists of a ground control station with workstations of an external pilot and operator of target equipment, two helicopter-type UAVs and a transport container. UAV control can be carried out at a distance of up to 100 km from the base station.

According to representatives of Russian Helicopters, the large carrying capacity of the drone ensures its multifunctionality. BAS-200 can carry various monitoring equipment. This allows it to be used for multispectral surveying, which is used in geological exploration, forestry and agriculture, as well as for environmental and infrastructure monitoring. When transferring control from station to station, the drone's range is up to 400 kilometers, and the duration of the payload flight is up to four hours.

"We are preparing contracts for the supply of UAVs in the interests of various regional services, and we also receive requests from leasing companies," the holding added.

2022: Certification of Russia's first unmanned helicopter

On December 30, 2022, the Federal Air Transport Agency certified the first Russian heavy civilian drone BAS-200. It was developed by the Mil and Kamov national center of the Russian Helicopters holding.

According to Izvestia, the certificate from Rosaviation is a purely symbolic document. By agreement, the drone can only be used for aircraft boats (for example, spraying farmland), but not for commercial delivery of goods. The fact is that by the end of 2022, the certification work program was completed for less than 10%, and of the 200 flight hours required to obtain a certificate, there are less than 10 hours that will be counted in the Federal Air Transport Agency, and the total flight time of all created drones does not exceed 50 hours. The certificate will be of a limited category, not providing for the possibility of commercial delivery of goods.

The first unmanned helicopter is certified in Russia
Ha photo: BAS-200

The Russian Helicopters holding in 2021 planned to localize BAS-200 in the Russian Federation, but by the end of 2022, according to the source of the publication, the launch of helicopter production is in its infancy. Rosaviatsia and Helicopters of Russia should form and approve the curriculum, empower some institution to train, prepare external pilots, the source added.

Another limiting factor in the development of the market is bans on the use of civilian air drones in the regions in connection with the release in October of the decree of the President of the Russian Federation on different readiness modes. In 2022, at least 14 regions introduced bans on the issuance of permits for aircraft exploits using drones.

According to two Izvestia sources on the market, a total of three to four copies of the BAS-200 were collected in Russia, and one was broken during certification during destructive tests. The third interlocutor of Izvestia, familiar with the situation, noted that he had seen more collected copies, but did not specify how many.^[2]

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