The Russian Navy Maritime Aviation has dispatched Be-200 amphibious plane to Turkey and they will immediately embark on fire-prevention missions. The Be-200 amphibious plane took off from the Krymsk airfield at about 4 p.m. Moscow time and headed for the Adana aerodrome, Turkey where it will be temporarily based, the Russian Federation Defence Ministry specified. The plane’s crew has been trained at the Yeisk Naval Aviation Combat Employment and Retraining Center and has practical experience of fulfilling tasks of this kind.
The Beriev Be-200 Altair is a utility amphibious aircraft designed and built by the Beriev Aircraft Company. Marketed as being designed for fire fighting, search and rescue, maritime patrol, cargo, and passenger transportation, it has a capacity of 12,000 litres (3,200 US gal) of water, or up to 72 passengers. The name Altair was chosen after a competition amongst Beriev and Irkut staff in 2002—2003, as a reference to the name of the alpha star in the Eagle constellation.
The Be-200 is a high-wing T-tail monoplane. The hull is of single step design with a high length-to-beam ratio, which contributes to stability and controllability in water. The Be-200 airframe is constructed of aluminium alloys with corrosion-protection treatments. Selective use is made of titanium, composites and other corrosion-free materials. The wings are fitted with underwing stabiliser floats. The hydraulically operated retractable landing gear units all retract rearward, and each unit is twin-wheeled. A water rudder provides steering when in the water.
Beriev developed unique fire-fighting equipment for the Be-200, allowing it to scoop water while skimming the water surface at 90-95% of takeoff speed. The Be-200 in amphibious water drop fire-fighter configuration suppresses fires by dropping water contained in eight ferric aluminium alloy water tanks, located under the cabin floor in the centre fuselage section. After installation of the fire-fighting system. This modified Be-12 was used to develop both the fire-fighting system and methods of operation.
