The licensed assembly of American Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopters will begin at the Odessa Aviation Plant. It was announced by Yuriy Gusev, CEO of the State concern of Ukrainian defence industry "Ukroboronprom".

During a working visit to the Odessa Aviation Plant, Ukroboronprom General Director Yuriy Gusev said that an assembly line would appear here under license for American Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopters (also known as Hye). The project is financed from investment funds. The helicopters will be assembled at the Odessa Aircraft Plant. The first batch should be manufactured by the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence, by August 2021.

I would like to note that the priority for the Odessa Aviation Plant is to meet the needs for weapons and military equipment of the main customer, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. In order to increase the volume of production at the enterprise, we plan to create a specialised school for training new aircraft designers. A similar branch may appear at the Odessa Polytechnic University.

Yuri Gusev, CEO of Ukroboronprom

The director of the Odessa Aviation Plant, Vitaly Yukhachev, emphasised that the Iroquois is a multipurpose helicopter for military and civil use.

The American helicopter UH-1 is famous for the attack scene with Wagner's music in Francis Ford Coppola's movie "Apocalypse Now".

Bell UH-1 Iroquois is an American multipurpose helicopter by Bell Helicopter Textron, one of the most famous and mass-produced aircraft in the history of helicopter engineering. Can be equipped with two light machine guns, rocket armament and a grenade launcher. The maximum cruising speed is 196 km/h. Flight range – 455 km. It can carry up to 14 passengers. Also produced in civil modification.

The Bell UH-1 Iroquois made its first test flight in October 1956. The combat capabilities of the vehicle were fully revealed during the Vietnam War, where they arrived in 1962. Helicopters were used to deliver special forces, solve transport problems, and even in the shock version for striking partisans. The Iroquois has taken part in almost all the wars of the past five decades. Now it is in service with more than 70 countries around the world, including the United States and Germany.

The State company Odessa Aircract Plant is one of the oldest aviation enterprises in Ukraine and Europe, established in 1911. Specialised in the repair of MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-27, L-39 aircraft; modernization of MiG-21 and L-39 aircraft; repair of units of MiG-29, An-12, An-24, An-26 and Yak-40 aircraft; repair of aircraft engines of various brands and their units; service maintenance; manufacturing of spare parts and personnel training.

Source: Dumskaya.net