Motor Sich restarts talks on Ansat engines

Motor Sich (MSICH UK) renewed negotiations with Russian Helicopters to supply its MS-500V engines for the light Ansat helicopter, Motor Sich’s CEO said yesterday (via Interfax). The Ansat helicopter had originally been designed to utilize Pratt & Whitney PW-207K engines and Russian Helicopters rejected Motor Sich’s first attempt to substitute the engine with their MS-500V back in 2011.

Roman Dmytrenko: The Ansat was chosen as Russia’s military training copter in 2011, thus the Russian Defense Ministry would prefer to not use the western-made P&W engine, which opens the door for Motor Sich. Ideally, the copter would be equipped with a Russian-made engine – and this is the main obstacle for Motor Sich here. However, the only Russian alternative, Klimov’s VK-800, is still in the process of pre-production tests. Russia produces ~30 Ansats p.a., which implies the annual revenue of USD 10-12 mln for Motor Sich if it succeeds in negotiations.