Flying testbed of Russia's future high-speed helicopter made its maiden flight

The flying testbed derived from the Mil Mil-24K (NATO reporting name: Hind) for testing components of the future high-speed helicopter flew for the first time on December 23, 2015, a defense industry source told journalists on Thursday, Dec. 24.

According to the source, the airborne laboratory got off the ground for the first time at the Mil Helicopter Plant’s (a Russian Helicopter subsidiary) flight test facility in Tomilino (Moscow Region). It is equipped with a main rotor embodying the latest Russian aerodynamic, strength and manufacturing technologies.

As was reported in the press, the flying testbed is designed for the full-scale flight testing of the rotor system of the future high-speed helicopter and is a derivative of the Mi-24K. It was unveiled at the MAKS 2015 air show.

A scientific and technical groundwork is to be laid as part of the future helicopter’s development to drive the rotorcraft’s speed up to 400 km/h at first and up to 450 km/h later on. The results to be produced will be applicable to upgrading the in-service helicopters and developing advanced ones. Russian Aerospace Force Commander-in-Chief Viktor Bondarev said the future high-speed helicopter would enter full-scale production in 2022 and would be capable of 500 km/h.