China Defense Blog: The Sino-Russian 20+ ton Heavy-lift Helicopter Project...

China Defense Blog: The Sino-Russian 20+ ton Heavy-lift Helicopter Project.. 　

BEIJING, January 21 (ChinaMil) –During the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008, an all-red Russian-made M-26 helicopter, the largest helicopter in the world, was frequently seen on TV. It lifted a large number of badly-needed goods and materials to the disaster-hit areas, impressing the public.
　　However, there were only two M-26 helicopters in China at that time, and they were the only helicopters that were able to lift those lifesaving heavy-duty machines.
　　The pain of Wenchuan is also the pain of the helicopter industry in China. After that, China began to speed up the development of heavy helicopters, and China and Russia's joint development of heavy helicopters has become a hot spot.
　　An insider from the military industry system of Russia said in an interview that the heavy helicopter being jointly developed by China and Russia is slightly smaller than the M-26 helicopter. With China's needs taken into full consideration, it is usable at high altitude, reported Interfax, the Russian news agency.
　 　With the help of Russia who possesses strong technical strength in helicopters, this advanced heavy helicopter tailor-made for China is taking shape.
　　In as early as 2010, Andrei Shibitov, Chief Executive Officer of the Russian Helicopters, declared at a news conference that Russia and China would jointly develop 30-35 tonnage helicopters.

Interesting.

I remember those articles about a 33 ton helicopter being built jointly.  Here's one for those that don't.

For military applications I think we've seen the upper limits of helicopter size.  I wasn't sure about the civilian limits until this news.  So we have it.  C-130 sized helicopters are as big as is practical.  Good to know.