As reported by local media, citing sources from the Administration of Forest Lands of the Republic of Kazakhstan, at present more than half of the helicopters available to the department are Russian Ka-32Ts. In total, ALU RK has 48 helicopters, including 28 Kamovs.
Russian cars are respected by Korean drivers and technicians for their simplicity and high performance in difficult conditions. This is especially in demand when putting out forest fires in Korea, the season of which traditionally falls in spring and autumn.
However, this year there was a problem: fires broke out, and there was “tension” with spare parts for “Russian horses”, especially since many cars are already in their third decade. South Korea once joined the sanctions against Russia, Moscow, in response, included the Republic of Korea in the list of hostile states. As a result, Koreans cannot buy spare parts for Russian-made helicopters, which can lead to firefighting problems. According to the Joseon Ilbo newspaper, it is sometimes necessary to collect moving parts from multiple machines to operate a single one.
“The situation with the Kamovs is not easy, but for now we are holding our own. However, if everything continues like this, then in the worst case we will have to land helicopters due to a lack of parts spare parts,” Choi Hyuk, head of the technical support group of the aircraft maintenance department of the ALU of the Republic of Kazakhstan, was quoted by local TV channel KBS Sona as saying. In the Forest Land Administration, expanding on this topic, they say that everything can eventually lead to the inability to extinguish fires from the air. In this regard, at the moment, all Kamovs are used only for exits to fires, having stopped their operation for other purposes, since firefighting is a priority.
Note that at this time in various parts of South Korea, the weather is traditionally hot and dry. As a result, the risk of fire has increased significantly. Mountain national parks are closed to tourists, but this does not save – fires are breaking out here and there. Last year, fires in eastern South Korea reached such intensity that they crept near a large nuclear power plant and for a time threatened the safety of the plant. Smoke from the fires was visible in footage from space. Then, thanks to great efforts and the massive involvement of fire helicopters, it was possible to extinguish the fire, but more than 1,000 hectares of forest burned and hundreds of people had to be evacuated.
