YEKATERINBURG, October 28. /TASS/. The world’s largest serial-produced Mil Mi-26 heavy transport helicopter arrived for a squadron of the Central Military District’s army aviation brigade stationed in the Chelyabinsk Region, the District’s press office reported on Wednesday.

"The Mi-26 crew and the formation’s ground personnel received the combat vehicle at the manufacturing factory in the Rostov Region where the helicopter had undergone profound maintenance and its assemblies, systems and navigation equipment had been upgraded," the press office said in a statement.

Following this, the pilots made a flight to a distance of over 2,000 km with two re-fueling operations and arrived at the home airfield. The helicopter entered service with the transport helicopter unit and completed the unit’s formation, the statement says.

A Mi-26 heavy multi-purpose transport helicopter is the world’s largest serial-produced transport chopper with a maximum take-off weight of 56 tonnes and a lifting capacity of 20 tonnes. The helicopter can transport up to 70 paratroopers or 85 passengers.

The Urals army aviation brigade was set up on December 1, 2018. The brigade operates Mi-24P gunships, Mi-8MTV5-1 transport and combat helicopters and the world’s biggest Mi-26 heavy transport and air assault rotorcraft.