The first Beriev Be-200ES amphibious aircraft ordered by the Russian Navy has performed its maiden flight on Feb. 14, United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) announced.
The aircraft took off from the Beriev factory airfield for the maiden flight. Following the completion of further test flights and acceptance tests by the Russian Navy, the aircraft will be delivered to the Russian Naval Aviation.
The Beriev Be-200 Altair is a multipurpose amphibious aircraft designed by the Beriev Aircraft Company and manufactured by Irkut. Marketed as being designed for fire fighting, search and rescue, maritime patrol, cargo, and passenger transportation, it has a capacity of 12,000 litres (3,170 US gallons) of water, or up to 72 passengers. Beriev Aircraft Company and Irkut now fall under the umbrella of the state-owned United Aircraft Corporation.
The Be-200ES is a multipurpose amphibious aircraft version of Be-200 and features enhanced performance and increased maximum takeoff weight. The Be-200ES is certified for at sea operations with sea state 3, at least 2.6 meters depth, and waves of up to 1.3 meters tall. Currently, Be-200ES is the production standard for the Be-200 aircraft.
Russian Naval Aviation currently has 359 aircraft in its inventory according to the wdmma.org. The aircraft types and quantity:
| AIRCRAFT TYPE | QUANTITY |
| MIG-31 Interceptor | 24 |
| MIG-29K Multirole | 23 |
| SU-30SM Multirole | 22 |
| SU-24 Attack | 22 |
| SU-33 Multirole | 20 |
| SU-25 UTG CAS/Attack Trainer | 4 |
| Ka-27 ASW Helicopter | 90 |
| Mi-8 Medium Lift Helicopter | 17 |
| Ka-29 Maritime Attack Helicopter | 16 |
| Ka-52 Attack Helicopter | 4 |
| Mil 24/35 Gunship/Transport Helicopter | 2 |
| An-26 Tactical | 26 |
| An-72 Tactical | 5 |
| An-140 Tactical | 4 |
| Tu-154 Transport | 2 |
| An-24 Tactical | 1 |
| Il-18D Tactical | 1 |
| Tu-134 Flight Trainer | 6 |
| L-39 Advanced Jet Trainer | 4 |
| MIG-29KUB Fighter Trainer | 4 |
| Il-20 Crew Trainer | 1 |
| Tu-142 Patrol/ASW | 24 |
| Il-38 Maritime Patrol | 20 |
| Be-12 Search and Rescue | 6 |
| An-12 Search and Rescue | 5 |
| Ka-31 AEW&C | 3 |
| Il-22 Electronic Warfare | 2 |
| Il-20 Maritime Patrol | 1 |
| Yak-130 Advanced Jet Trainer (On Order) | 10 |
| SU-30 SM Multirole (On Order) | 6 |
| Be-200 Search and Rescue (On Order) | 4 |
| Be-200 Amphibious Transport (On Order) | 4 |
