HESA Shahed 278

The HESA Shahed 278 is a light utility helicopter developed in Iran.

Iran's Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center plans to produce several variants of Shahed, the sources said. The first platform was the Shahed-278 (Oh-78), described as a light reconnaissance helicopter and armed with weapons and sensors. Test flights of the Shahed-278 (Oh-78) began in 2005.

Design
The composite Shahed-278 is a relatively light helicopter with 682 kg of empty weight. It is a four-seater; intended for dual military/civil use, though designed primarily to meet military requirements. Designed entirely in Iran, according to manufacturer, although some sources report use of locally made airframe and dynamic components of Bell 206 JetRanger. Although designed by the IRGC, this helicopter is scheduled to be produced by HESA.

Shahed-278 has a 4 hours flight endurance and newer models can be equipped with MFD displays. The newer models are 11.82m long, 1.92m wide and 2.98m high. Body weight is increased to 750kg. Maximum take-of weight is 1450kg, and the maximum engine power is 420 hp. The OH-78 variation of Shahed-278 is armed with 70mm rockets with a range of 0.5-5 km. A 12.7 mm gun is installed under the nose. Helicopter is equipped with a night and day vision system and a data recording system can optionally be added. The OH-78 body is reinforced and the body shape is a bit different from the other versions.