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Russian Helicopters to Use State Aid to Produce 870 Crafts by 2020

Aided by massive state support, Russian Helicopters plans to produce 870 helicopters worth almost 400 billion rubles ($12 billion) before 2020, more than 200 of them for export.

"Russian Helicopters' order portfolio for the period to 2020 amounts to 870 machines for a total of around 388 billion rubles, including 232 helicopters for export," according to materials prepared for a meeting dedicated to the helicopter-building industry chaired by President Vladimir Putin in Rostov-on-Don on Thursday.

State-owned Russian Helicopters intends to build and sell 321 of them in 2013, the materials say — almost twice as many as in 2009, Interfax reported.

Putin, speaking at the meeting, committed the state to fork out 36 billion rubles to support civil helicopter construction, RIA Novosti reported.

This reflects increased sales of military helicopters, many of them for the Russian armed forces. The documents say that delivery of military machines this year will be conducted in line with parameters established by a state armament program for the period until 2020.

The company plans to sell 71 civil-use helicopters this year, including 25 on the home market.

The company's development strategy for the period until 2020, confirmed in 2011, aims at taking at least 18 percent of the world helicopter-building market and raising annual production volume to at least 470 units. Russian Helicopters cut of the global market last year was 14 percent, according to materials on the company's website.

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