Russian newspaper Kommersant is reporting that UZGA (The Ural Civil Aviation Works) has signed a deal to produce the Bell 407GXP under licence at their Yekaterinburg plant. The report is seen as surprising even by other Russian news sources such as Bell have

The first three 407GXPs are expected to fly before the end of 2015, and will be targetted for certification of the production process. Assuming the relevant paperwork is all signed off, that could lead to price discounts of 17% on the basis that the local production would remove the onerous import duties currently made on helicopters.

Russia has never had a serious light helicopter in production. The unsuccessful Mil Mi-34 (1,450 kg / 3,200 lb), and the next smallest Mil Mi-2 (3,700 kg / 8,157 lb) had its production line in Poland at Swidnik, and was a twin-engined model capable of carrying a pilot and eight passengers.

Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com