A Russian Be-200 emergency plane landed in Greece today and will take part in fire extinguishing missions in the country.
The agreement between the Ministry of Protection of Citizens of Greece responsible for organising measures to combat natural fires and PJSC IL was officially signed in Athens.
The preparation of the contract was carried out with the support of the representative office of the State Corporation Rostec in Greece.
The starting point was the negotiations between the Russian delegation headed by Vladimir Artyakov, the first Deputy Director General of the State Corporation of Rostec, and Deputy Minister of Protection of citizens of Greece Nikos Hardalias in March.
Forest fires pose a serious threat to people’s safety, especially if natural disasters take place in hard-to-reach areas.
Aviation has repeatedly demonstrated high efficiency and effectiveness in eliminating the effects of forest fires.
During the flights, it is planned to work out new methods of fencing and dropping water on firefighting focal points in extreme hydrometeorological conditions.
“Greek partners share our confidence in the possibilities of the Russian machine and expect effective support in the fight against fire from the air,” Vladimir Artyakov commented.
The Russian side regularly receives requests from foreign countries to help eliminate forest fires.
Amphibious Be-200 emergency planes are produced by the Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex named after G.M. Beriev of the United Aircraft Corporation.
Planes have proven effective in fighting fires in Russia.
Be-200 Emergency is the only jet-amphibious in the world, which gives indisputable advantages in speed during fire extinguishing. Be-200 Emergency can take up to 12 tons of water on board.
The plane has a good performance in the amount of water reset in one hour. For one gas station, the plane is able to discharge up to 270 tons of water on the fire.
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