OREANDA-NEWS. May 05, 2011. Ukraine has all opportunities to ensure its own future needs in helicopters. The First vice Prime Minister - Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Andriy Klyuyev said this to journalists.

"We have produced engines to virtually all types of helicopters, which exist in the world. We have companies that can do hulls and most components and assemblies for the new Ukrainian helicopters. So we just have to put in production in the near-term outlook their own production", - Andriy Klyuyev said.

According to him, today helicopters’ park that are operating in our country quite out of date and needs updating. The share of machines that run up to 10 years does not exceed 15%. The age of most helicopters over 20 years, the First vice Prime Minister noted.

Andriy Klyuyev said that, if in the early 90's operating helicopters in Ukraine were about 500 civilian helicopters, today registered a little over two hundred (excluding machines of Ministry of Defence).

The First Vice Prime Minister stated that he the has instructed Agency for the management of state corporate rights in conjunction with the Defense Ministry to work out optimal process model of helicopters production, including mechanisms of public-private partnership with the “Motor Sich" and other enterprises.

Andriy Klyuyev said that "Motor Sich" is already beginning to carry the modernization of Russian Mi-8, bringing the longer service life.

He said that the domestic industry is ready partly provide our needs upgraded helicopters, continued their life of 7-10 years. It is time to design a new national helicopter, Andriy Klyuyev told.

According to him, it is important from the viewpoint of prospects of development of the domestic economy, to increase the needs of the number of its branches in such technique. It is about passenger transport, the needs of the Ukrainian army and other power ministries, health and the tasks of preventing and managing natural disasters and technological disasters, Andrey Klyuyev announced.

He also said that recently the President of Ukraine ordered in the near future to strengthen the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Ukraine by several new helicopters for better preparedness for the expected forest fires.