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Russia, India set to sign contract on after-sale maintenance of Mi-8/17 helicopters

The contract is expected to be signed for three years but may be extended to five years

QUITOL (South Goa), March 28. /TASS/. Russian Helicopters Group, part of state hi-tech corporation Rostec, plans to sign a long-term contract with India’s Defense Ministry soon on the after-sale maintenance of Mil Mi-8/17 helicopters, Group Deputy CEO Igor Chechikov said on Monday.

"We’re currently discussing with our Indian partners the transition to after-sale maintenance of helicopters in a principally new format," he said.

"From the practice of providing maintenance services and delivering spare parts under one-time requests and tenders, the Group proposes rendering comprehensive after-sale services on a long-term basis with the agreed terms of delivery and price parameters. We’re considering the possibility of such cooperation with the Air Force, the Navy and the Border Troops of India. This will be the first long-term services contract with India for us," Chechikov said at the DEFEXPO India-2016 arms show.

This type of the agreement allows reducing the time for the provision of after-sale services, simplifying budget planning for Indian customers and ensuring the possibility of planning the production of spare parts for Indian operators, the Russian Helicopters Group deputy CEO said.

"This will bring the system of after-sale maintenance of Russian-made rotorcraft to a new level," he said.

Russian Helicopters will provide for the repair of helicopters produced in Russia and the delivery of components for them during the entire life cycle of these machines, Chechikov said.

"It should be noted that the repair of helicopters operational in India will be organized both on the basis of Russian Helicopters enterprises and in maintenance centers being established in India," he said.

The contract is expected to be signed for three years but may be extended to five years. Also, a possibility exists for expanding the range of helicopters, for which comprehensive after-sale services will be provided.

Russian Helicopters specialists have submitted a technical and commercial offer to the Indian Air Force with a wide range of positions of rotorcraft equipment, which is necessary for the maintenance of helicopters and their major repairs.

The list of this equipment will be extended until the end of 2016 and periodically updated.