In the wake of continuing sanctions against Russian interests following that country’s invasion of Ukraine, the UAE has pulled its support of the VRT500, a light co-axial helicopter under development by the VR Technologies division of Russian Helicopters. The original investment, reported to be US$400 million, by the Emirates’ Strategic Development Fund (SDF) had been linked to a proposed purchase of 100 VRT500s for the UAE armed forces and Abu Dhabi’s Police Force.
Clearly, this will place the continuance of the VRT500, which had been slated for production in Italy at the Rostec-owned Vertex Aero, in some doubt, at least for the foreseeable future.
