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Be-200 Multipurpose Amphibian

The Asia-Pacific region is the most dynamically developing area in the world. It accounts for more than half of the world's industrial production and up to 40 percent of global trade. The area is rich in mineral resources. About 20 percent of the world's freight is carried via sea and air routes passing through the region. For these reasons the existing airports have to be reconstructed and new ones built, which necessitates large capital investments. 

Countries situated in the region need new aircraft that would enable them to cope with the increasing cargo and passenger traffic, further develop air traffic between the mainland and islands, quickly and effectively perform search and rescue operations at sea, 
 patrol the key sea routes and state borders, insular territories, territorial waters and, if necessary, promptly airlift a rapid reaction force to the required place. These problems appear to be most challenging to the states which do not have enough land to build new airports but have long sea borders. 

The Irkutsk Aviation Production Association and Beta IR company offer these countries the new Be-200 amphibious jet aircraft. This aircraft was developed by the Beriev Aviation Scientific-Technical Complex in Taganrog. 

The aircraft's aerohydrodynamics incorporates the latest advances made in this field in the world. In most of its performance characteristics the amphibian is not inferior to similar land-based aircraft. But it possesses the unique ability to take off or land on the water surface or ground. 

The Be-200 amphibious aircraft is basically a monoplane featuring a high-mounted sweep wing, T-shaped tail unit and long hull with variable lateral deadrise. Two D-436TP turbojet engines are pylon-mounted on the undercarriage fairings above the wing. The tricycle undercarriage provides for operation of the aircraft from class B airfields (runway 1,800 m). 

The Be-200 features: 
- excellent hydrodynamic and aerodynamic characteristics of the chosen configuration. 
- a fully watertight fuselage, unlike existing competitors. 
- a multitude of applications. 

The latest flight and navigation system, ARIA-200, developed by the Aircraft Equipment Institute (Russia) in collaboration with AlliedSignal (USA). The system provides for effective navigation and flight control at all stages under any meteorological conditions, including arrival at the assigned point (fire hot spot or water scooping area) with a high degree of accuracy, automatic lead-out to the same point in the event of a repeated run, approach for landing (to the altitude of up to 60 m) precise determination of relative position in a group, the last factor being very important under IMC flight conditions; 
- reliable and economic D-436TP engines, developing a thrust of 7,500 kg each. Upon customer request, BR-715 turbofan engines produced by BMW-Rolls-Royce, or Allison-2000 engines produced by Allison (USA), can be installed. 

Basic Specifications 

Takeoff weight, t


Preferred economic flight altitude, m 


Flight speed, km/h: 


Dry tank range using engine fuel reserve, including fuel consumption on the ground, km 


Average in-flight fuel consumption, kg/h 


Lift-off/landing speed, km/h 


Seaworthiness, sea state (wave height, m) 

3 (1.2) 



The Be-200 amphibian can carry passengers and cargoes to: 
- islands that have no runways; 
- remote coastal areas; 
- sea rigs; 
- fish processing ships; 
- various types of sea vessels; 
- hard-to-access areas where water reservoirs are available. 
Waterborne Capabilities 

- use of any water surface deeper than 2 m for take-off and landing; 
- maneuvers on water at a speed of up to 50 km/h regardless of the wind direction. Maneuvers are performed by operating the stern water rudder or by varying the thrust of the engines. 

For the sake of safety, the amphibian's hull is divided into separate watertight compartments which keep it afloat even if any two adjacent compartments are flooded simultaneously. 

Firefighting Version 

The firefighting version of the aircraft is the most efficient means of detecting and combating fires. It can perform the following: 
- fly patrol missions over forests to spot fires; 
- put out or contain a fire by discharging water and fire-extinguishing liquid over the edge of the fire or in front of it in several runs; 
- deliver fire brigades and fire-fighting facilities to the disaster area; 
- contain and suppress oil fires; 
- contain and suppress fires in towns and cities. 

Be-200 operation limits at the sea during take-off and landing

Specific Features of the Firefighting Version 
The firefighting version of the amphibian can carry 12 tons of water in 8 tank compartments located under the cabin floor and has the following characteristics: 
- time required to scoop 12 tons of water in the aquaplaning 
mode - 12 s; 
- fully fueled, the aircraft can deliver up to 300 tons of water to the fire zone; 
- capacity of chemical agent tanks - 1.2 m3; 
- the amphibian has eight water tank doors programmable to drop the water all at once or in successive passes, thus enhancing the firefighting capability considerably; 
-  water-scooping distance at sea level (ISA, obstacle height 10.7 m, takeoff weight - 43,000 kg)- 
1,330 m; 
- navigational equipment enables the crew to reach the fire zone precisely and - in the second run - automatically brings the aircraft to the place where the extinguishing agent was dropped for the first time. This is particularly important in situations where several aircraft are involved and the area is smoked up heavily. 

The comparative performances

Patrol Version  

The patrol version of the amphibian can effectively be used to perform the following missions: 
- location and classification of suspicious ships in the assigned area, as well as determination of their coordinates and identity; 
- detention of suspicious ships by firing warning shots; examination of arrested ships after landing on water; 
- transmission of information concerning the detected targets to the shore-based control posts and guidance of border-guard ships; 
- transport of personnel and cargoes; 
- conduct of search and rescue operations and rendering first aid to victims on water; 
- monitoring of the environment, weather and radio-frequency emissions aloft and afloat; 
- participation in operations conducted to remove oil spills at sea; 
- taking samples of water or soil from the bottom of water reservoirs and checking the quality of the air with the aid of special equipment. 

Passenger Version 

The passenger version features a spacious and comfortable passenger compartment and is available in the following layouts: economy class - 64 seats; first and business classes - 32 seats; executive version - 18 seats. The interior was designed and manufactured by the British company AIM Aviation (LTD). 

Cargo/Passenger and Transport Versions 

Can be used to quickly deliver cargo, mail and passengers as required. 
These versions of the Be-200 aircraft feature: 
- pressurized cargo compartment 18.7x2.4x1.8 m in size and 80.8 m3 in volume, with a large cargo compartment door, 1.76x2.05 m in size; 
- capacity to carry up to 3,000 kg of cargo in LD-1, LD-2 and AKS containers or on PA-1.5, R-8 pallets, and up to 19 passengers; 
- transport of up to 6 tons of cargo; 
- compatibility with existing floating facilities and quays used to carry out loading/unloading operations afloat without large expenses for modifications; 
- possibility of re-equipment of the aircraft (installation or removal of seats, transposition of protective partitions, etc.) within one hour by the crew. 

Ambulance Version 

The ambulance version of the aircraft is provided with seven seats for medical personnel, 30 stretchers and space to accommodate special medical equipment. 

It can be used as a mobile hospital. 

The Be-200 amphibian has good prospects and the range of its applications will steadily expand opening up new capabilities. 
Looking at the capabilities and performance characteristics of the Be-200 in their entirety, we can assert that it is a unique amphibious aircraft with no equivalent in the world.

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