Kamov delivered two more Ka-32A11BCs to Spain’s Helisureste on April 22, when mixed Russian-Spanish crews ferried the helicopters to Spain from Kamov’s flight-test base in the Moscow suburb of Zhulebino.

The Spanish firm received its first two examples of the Russian helicopter late last year, and it subsequently awarded Kamov a follow-on order for three more. The helicopters are sold via Kamov-Holding, a Kamov Helicopters Group marketing and sales arm founded last year after commercial investor AFK Sistema, a prominent player in the local aviation industry, purchased a stake in Kamov Helicopters in return for exclusive sales rights to Kamov civil designs.

Kamov-Holding says Helisureste selected the Ka-32A11BC in an international tender. The Spanish firm had previously operated earlier-vintage Ka-32s leased from other companies. Helisureste used the leased helicopters primarily for firefighting missions.

The Ka-32A11BC is a special export version of the Ka-32A that won Russian type certification in 1993. The “BC” stands for British Columbia because the machine was intended for Canadian timber logging firms.

The Ka-32 has military roots, based on the deck-capable Ka-27 developed for the Russian navy. Following Canadian civil certification in 1998, the Ka-32A11BC and Ka-32A12 were certified in Mexico, Switzerland and Taiwan. Kamov general designer Sergei Mikheyev told AIN that so far the company has completed 12 Ka-32A11BCs and -A12s, which it has sold to operators in Canada, Switzerland and Spain. Kamov has exported about 60 Ka-32T/S/As to Korea as payment for Russian state debts.