The Russian Emergencies Ministry plans to purchase eight Be-200 amphibious aircraft to fight wildfires in the next two and a half years, Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday.
An order for the aircraft, which cost around 1 billion rubles each, will be placed shortly, Shoigu said.
"We plan to create three large squadrons, in the Far East, Siberia and central Russia, which will include not only Be-200s but also Mi-26, Mi-8 and Ka-32 helicopters," he said.
The Be-200s can also be deployed for transport, search and rescue operations and maritime patrol.
In the past week at least 34 people have died and over 2,000 have been left homeless in wildfires that engulfed 14 Russian regions as temperatures across much of central Russia reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
MOSCOW, August 2 (RIA Novosti)
