Be-200ES

Description: The Beriev A-40/Be-42 is the world's largest amphibious airplane. It was developed to meet the requirements of the Soviet Union's Navy for a single platform to replace Be-12 and Il-38 maritime patrol and ASW aircraft. The A-40/Be-42 is powered by two D-30KPV turbofan engines rated at 26,500-pound of thrust each, equipped with booster turbojets and mounted over the fuselage between the wings and the tail. Besides its stability and controllability in the water is remarkable due to variable rise hull. Its development began in the early 1980s and by 1989 the aircraft had achieved operational capability within the Soviet Union's Navy.

the Beriev design bureau also envisaged the development of new variants powered by turboprop engines in lieu of turbojets. The A-45 was the designation for ASW variant powered by turboprop engines, the Be-40P was a 105-seat airliner and the Be-40PT was a combi cargo/passenger airplane. Apparently, these further developments were put on hold following the Soviet Union collapse. However, Beriev continued development work on a shortened fuselage version intended for the commercial/civil segment and named the Be-200. Approximately 20 to 50 A-40/Be-42/Be-200 aircraft have been produced for the Commonality of Independent States (CIS) and export customers.

The Beriev Be-200 is a variant of the A-40/Be-42 aircraft which first flew on September, 24, 1998. The aircraft was awarded type certification in August 2001. The amphibious airplane is capable of search and rescue (SAR), transportation of passengers and freight, ambulance, and maritime surveillance applications highlighting the firefighting role. In the firefighting role, the Be-200 can airdrop up to 12 tons of water in just 17 seconds. The Be-200 retains the basic characteristics from A-40/Be-42 except the fuselage size which was reduced to make the aircraft smaller and the powerplants which have been replaced by more powerful Ivchenko-Progress D-436TP turbofan engines.

The Be-210 is a version of Be-200 intended to transport up to 72 passengers in the its fully pressurized cabin on routes of up to 1,850 km. The Be-200ES is a fully multipurpose amphibious aircraft version of Be-200 and features enhanced performance and increased maximum takeoff weight. It was awarded type certification in June 2003. The Be-200ES is certified for at sea operations with sea state 3, at least 2.6 meters depth, and waves of up to 1.3 meters tall. Currently, Be-200ES is the production standard for the Be-200 aircraft.

In August 2005 EADS purchased 10% share on Irkut - the Be-200 manufacturer - and boosted the Be-200 program through close cooperation between EADS and Irkut on marketing and international type certification. As of 2005, Be-200 was being operated by Russian Ministry of Disaster Relief and the Italian Protezione Civile authorities.