PANHA Surena (Sorena)

Light Utility Helicopter (LUH)

Iran | 2025

"The Surena Light Utility Helicopter has been in slow development since 2014 with few takers on the global stage found to date."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 08/15/2022 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The IHSRC (IRAN Helicopter Support and Renweal Company) SORENA / SURENA faces an uphill climb by sanctions-stricken Iranian aero-industry. The type is of Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) design and first appeared in 2014. Since then, development appears to have slowed considerably. At Army-2022 in Russia, the SORENA II variant was showcased as a sub-scale model (under glass) indicating the project may still have some life yet.

The aircraft would enter a potentially lucrative LUH market dominated by usual industry players from the United States and Europe (and more recently China). Where the SORENA may hold an advantage is in customers typically locked out of purchasing Western rotorcraft for various reasons (chief among these being technology accessibility and procurement costs). In any case, the market introduction of this system would continue to broaden a growing military-industrial base seen by the nation of Iran where the country is making notable inroads in the aircraft (including drones), small arms, naval vessel, and armored vehicle markets.

As presented, this light helicopter is given a traditional design arrangement with seating for four at front, powerplant at rear, and a thin tail stem housing the drive shaft to the tail rotor unit. Vision out-of-the-cockpit is excellent with a heavily windowed forward section for both pilot positions. The main rotor consists of a two-bladed system and the tail rotor follows suit with its facing set to port side. Horizontal planes are featured at the tail stem's midway point and vertical surfaces are present at the extreme end of the empennage. The undercarriage is of a simple four-point twin-skid assembly reducing costs and complexity of the helicopter as a whole. Access to the cockpit and passenger cabin is accomplished by way of hinged, automobile-style doors. A pair of occupants sit side-by-side aft of the instrument panel with additional side-by-side seating in the cabin.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the PANHA Surena / Sorena Light Utility Helicopter (LUH).

1 x Turboshaft engine driving two-bladed main rotor and two-bladed tail rotor (facing port side).
Propulsion

149 mph
240 kph | 130 kts
Max Speed

14,108 ft
4,300 m | 3 miles
Service Ceiling

345 miles
555 km | 300 nm
Operational Range

540 ft/min
165 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the PANHA Surena / Sorena Light Utility Helicopter (LUH).

1
(MANNED)
Crew

2,205 lb
(1,000 kg)
Empty Weight

2,524 lb
(1,145 kg)
MTOW

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the PANHA Surena (Sorena) family line.

Surena - Base Series Name.

Sorena - Alternative name.

Sorena II - Modernized variant debuted in scale-model form at Army-2022 in Russia.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the PANHA Surena (Sorena). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 1 Units
Contractor(s): Iran Helicopter Support and Renewal Company (IHSRC) / PANHA - Iran

[ Iran (possible) ]

Going Further...
The PANHA Surena (Sorena) Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) appears in the following collections:

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