AC3X2 / Z-YY - Program
Advanced Heavy Lift AHL 40-ton Helicopter

As of 2020 the Sino-Russian AHL project with a take-off weight of 38 tons and a load capacity of 10 tons (lifting 15 tons) has been constrained by the problem of the D136 turboshaft engine made in Ukraine.

Russia has reached an agreement with China on the joint construction of a long-range, wide-body passenger plane and a modern helicopter, with a cargo capacity of up to 15 tons, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said 06 June 2014. The helicopter project calls for the creation of a modified Mi-26 heavy transport helicopter. The new helicopter is to be lighter than the previous version, but retaining its predecessor’s cargo capacity of up to 15 tons.

Holding "Helicopters of Russia" State Corporation Rostec and China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) signed a framework agreement on cooperation in the field of long-term heavy helicopter. The document was signed in the Kremlin 05 Novemver 2015 in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of China Xi Jinping. Signatures to the agreement put the general director of "Helicopters of Russia" Holding Alexander Mikheev and Chairman of AVIC Lin Tszomin Corporation Board of Directors. Manufacturing in China heavy helicopter joint development is one of the major themes of Russian-Chinese cooperation in the aviation sector. Signing of an agreement triggers the start of practical work on the project. According to the document, the parties will cooperate in all areas of development and pre-production of a new heavy helicopter, which was named Advanced Heavy Lift (AHL).

"Helicopters of Russia" and the Chinese state-owned company Avicopter jointly develop a civilian heavy helicopter perspective (PTV). Corresponding intergovernmental agreement was signed on 27 June 2016 in Beijing during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to China. According to the document the Russian and Chinese sides will jointly develop promising heavy helicopter for the organization of its serial production in the People's Republic of China and to meet the demand in the Chinese market. Holding "Helicopters of Russia" will invest in the project in the form of technologies, as well as develop a technical proposal and a separate PTT system on a contractual basis.

RNS Director of International Cooperation and Regional Policy "Rostec" Victor Kladov said 22 March 2017 "The team of designers has been formed, is about to sit down at the negotiating table and, hopefully, before the end of the year something will come up," - said the Treasure at the International Aerospace and Naval Exhibition LIMA 2017 (Malaysia), responding to a question about the heavy helicopter project. He said that the sides have not yet agreed on the issue of the engine for a new helicopter. The Russian side proposed to base the generated engine PD-14 and Chinese partners proposed to use an existing engine D-18, manufactured by the Ukrainian company "Motor Sich" for the Mi-26. "Life will judge" - Kladov said.

He recalled that the Chinese partners are responsible for the whole helicopter, and Russian - for items produced in cooperation. "We are the general subcontractor", he said. According to him, for implementation of the helicopter will also meet the Chinese side. "The rights to the helicopter from the Chinese. The fact that we are doing the right belong to us ", - said the representative of Rostec. The project envisages the creation of a helicopter take-off weight of 38.5 tonnes carrying capacity of 14-15 tons helicopter production will be organized in China.

Russia's state corporation Rostec is set to sign "the contract of the century" with China on the helicopter "in the coming two months" after four years' talks on the project, Russia's Tass news agency quoted Viktor Kladov, a Rostec representative, as saying in February. As a strategic cooperation project between the two countries, China has now reached agreements with Russia in technology, management and business-related fields, Wu said.

Under the contract, at least 200 heavy helicopters will be built in China, Kladov said in 2017, Russia's state TV channel RT reported then. China is responsible for the helicopter's design and production and Russia would be acting as a technical partner, Kladov said. The heavy helicopter, dubbed Advanced Heavy Lift, would have a weight-lift capability of 15 tons, a range of 630 kilometers and a top speed of 300 kilometers an hour.

The helicopter will not be certified for delivery until 2032. Its R&D installation time is even more than an advanced fighter. This is enough to see the difficulty of research and development of heavy helicopters. The 40-ton class heavy helicopter, jointly developed by China and Russia, is expected to be delivered by 2032, Wu Ximing, a Chinese political advisor and chief designer of helicopters for the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, said 08 March 2019. "Russia is more experienced in the transmission system when it comes to 40-ton class helicopters, as Russia's Mi-26 is of the 56-ton class. Our goal in the cooperation is to learn from Russia's strong points and close the gap," Wu Ximing told the Global Times.