MOSCOW, July 8. /TASS/: A Be-200 amphibious plane of Russia’s naval aviation has departed for Turkey to help fight wildfires, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.
"On the instruction of the president of the Russian Federation, Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu has sent a Be-200 amphibious plane of the Russian Navy’s naval aviation to help the Turkish Republic extinguish fires," the ministry said in a statement.
The Be-200 amphibious plane took off from the Krymsk airfield at about 4 p.m. Moscow time and headed for the Adana aerodrome (Turkey) where it will be temporarily based, the ministry specified.
"The plane’s crew has been trained at the Yeisk Naval Aviation Combat Employment and Retraining Center and has practical experience of fulfilling tasks of this kind," Russia’s Defense Ministry said.
The ground personnel of the Yeisk aviation center will provide maintenance for the Russian Be-200 amphibious plane at the aerodrome of its temporary deployment in Turkey, the statement says.
The Beriev Be-200 multipurpose amphibious aircraft can take 12 tonnes of water on board. The plane can fill its water tanks in 14 seconds while skimming the water surface at a speed of 150-190 km/h.
