SINGAPORE, February 18. /TASS/. Thailand may order this year an additional batch of Russia’s Mi-17V-5 (NATO reporting name "Hip") helicopters, a source in the Russian military-technical cooperation sector told reporters on Thursday.

"Thailand has previously bought six Mi-17V-5 helicopters manufactured by the Kazan Helicopter Plant. We hope it will buy another batch. The negotiations are conducted through Rosoboronexport (Russia’s state-owed arms exporting company). We hope that the negotiations will bear fruit as early as this year," the source said.

The helicopter is one of the most advanced modifications of the Mi-17 family. It is produced by JSC Kazan Helicopters and sold through Rosoboronexport. Indonesia bought its first Mi-17V-5s under a 2008 contract. This was the first time that the Thai military preferred a Russian aircraft to a US-made.