ZHUKOVSKY /Moscow Region/, July 25. /TASS/. The first batch of Mil Mi-8AMTSh-VN new helicopters for Special Operations Forces will be commissioned with the country’s Armed Forces in early November, CEO of Russian Helicopters Group (part of the state hi-tech corporation Rostec) Andrei Boginsky told TASS.

"The first batch of the rotorcraft is scheduled to be commissioned this year, before November 10," Boginsky said speaking on the sidelines of the MAKS-2021 international air show. "The next batch is scheduled to be commissioned in 2022."

"We are signed up with orders regarding this issue for the current year as well as for the next year," he added.

This year, the MAKS international air show is celebrating its 15th anniversary. The MAKS-2021, one of the world’s top three air shows, is running in the suburban town of Zhukovsky outside Moscow on July 20-25 with the observance of all anti-coronavirus measures.

Mil Mi-8AMTSh-VN

The new helicopter has been developed in its special modification, considering the experience of combat operations in Syria. As its main specific feature, a Mi-8AMTSh-VN helicopter employs two side-mounted 12.7mm forward-firing machine-guns. The helicopter is outfitted with new flight control and navigation equipment, a gyro-stabilized opto-electronic system, a searchlight with an infrared emitter, dual-band lighting equipment and is adapted for using night vision goggles.

In order to increase its combat survivability, the Mi-8AMTSh-VN is outfitted with a digital autopilot system and a defensive aids suite that automatically detects missile launches against the helicopter, jams missile homing warheads and releases heat flares.

The crew’s cabin and the helicopter’s main systems are protected by the new armor made of titanium alloy. The floor of the cargo compartment and the helicopter’s sides are shielded up to the windows with the removable lightweight Kevlar armor to protect the crew.