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Romanian Navy / Forțele Navale Române IAR 330 Naval Helicopter license-built Aerospatiale SA330 Puma |
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The IAR 330 is the Romanian-built
version of the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma helicopter, manufactured by
IAR Brașov. Twenty-four helicopters were upgraded to IAR 330 SOCAT
in cooperation with Elbit Systems (Israel). Production: Despite being a COMECON and Warsaw Pact member, Romania strove for some measure of independence from the USSR. Instead of buying popular Soviet designs, Romania bought a licence to manufacture the French Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma on 30 July 1974. The first licensed helicopter was flown on 22 October 1975 under the designation IAR-330L. At least 163 of these helicopters have been built, out of which 104 were assigned to Romania's military, 2 were retained by the manufacturer and 57 were produced for export (Pakistan, Ivory Coast, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Ecuador). There is also a search and rescue (SAR) version, fitted with inflatable floats for emergency landing at sea, which has been built in a small batch. Production is still ongoing at the Industria Aeronautică Română plant at Ghimbav near Brașov. SOCAT version: In the 1990s, the Romanian Air Force decided to enhance the combat capabilities of the IAR 330L, making it a universal anti-tank and support helicopter. At that time, Romania started to cooperate with Israel on some military programs. The Israeli company Elbit Systems was chosen, and in September 1995 the Romanian Air Force signed a contract to upgrade 24 helicopters with the SOCAT system (Sistem Optronic de Cercetare și Anti-Tanc). The first IAR 330L SOCAT was flown on 26 May 1998, from IAR's airfield in Ghimbav, near Brașov. On 23 October 1999, the second prototype flew. The first IAR 330L SOCAT was delivered to a combat unit in 2001. In all, 25 SOCATs were made, including the prototype, rebuilt to production standard in 2005. The IAR 330M NATO is a modernized transport version with the SOCAT version's avionics, but without weapons and optronic systems. Among others, it has a weather radar. Twelve IAR 330Ls were modernized to 330M standard between 2005 and 2008. Naval version: The first IAR 330 NAVAL helicopter was officially unveiled at Ghimbav on 30 January 2007. The Romanian Naval Forces ordered three of this variant. The helicopter is in a similar configuration to the Romanian Air Force variant, including the SOCAT upgrade package; the Navy aircraft also have flotation gear fitted under the nose and main undercarriage fairings. They are operated from Navy frigates for search and rescue, medevac and maritime surveillance missions. Variants: IAR 330H - initial model (1975-1977) IAR 330L - improved model (1977-present) IAR 330M - modernized variant IAR 330L SOCAT - attack helicopter IAR 330 NAVAL - naval helicopter IAR 330 SM - export configuration for UAE General characteristics (IAR 330L): Crew: 1-3 Capacity: 16 fully equipped troops Length: 18.15 m (59 ft 7 in) (overall), 14.06 m (46 ft 2 in) Height: 5.14 m (16 ft 10 in) Empty weight: 3,615 kg (7,970 lb) Max takeoff weight: 7,400 kg (16,314 lb) Powerplant: 2 x Turboméca Turmo IVC turboshaft engines, 1,175 kW (1,576 hp) each Main rotor diameter: 15.00 m (49 ft 3 in) Main rotor area: 176.7 m2 (1,902 sq ft) Performance: Cruise speed: 271 km/h (168 mph, 146 kn) (max cruise) Never exceed speed: 294 km/h (183 mph, 159 kn) Range: 572 km (355 mi, 309 nmi) Service ceiling: 6,000 m (20,000 ft) Rate of climb: 9.2 m/s (1,810 ft/min) source: wikipedia |
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seaforces.org
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Romanian Navy start page
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