UWCA signs license agreement with Airbus Helicopters

Photo by Airbus Helicopters

Ural Works of Civil Aviation (UWCA) has signed a license agreement with Airbus Helicopters to assemble H135 light twin-engine rotorcraft (formerly EC135 T3/P3), Interfax newswire reports. UWCA anticipates the delivery of kits for four helicopters to its Yekaterinburg facility.

Assembly of H135s in Russia will help minimize costs for Russian operators, an industry source told Russian Aviation Insider. Whereas a helicopter is subject to 15.7% import duty, the duty for helicopter kits and spare parts is only 3-5%.

The UWCA will also assemble Arrius 2B2Plus turboshaft engines for the H135s, according to a contract signed with the French engine manufacturer Turbomeca.

Assembly of the Airbus Helicopters model is one of the projects expected to help UWCA secure a place in the Special Economic Zone known as “Titanium Valley.” The Zone is located outside of Yekaterinburg in Sverdlovsk Region, and is centered around the world’s largest titanium producer, VSMPO-Avisma.

UWCA counts on assembling four H135s per year. It already assembles Bell-407GXP light helicopters and drones and plans to produce L-410UVP-E20 turboprop airplanes, flight simulators and other aviation-related equipment.

There are 16 H135 helicopters in operation in Russia as of the beginning of 2016.