MOSCOW, February 28. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia has delivered to Afghanistan six Mil Mi-17V-5 military-transport helicopters under a contract with the United States on the supply of 30 helicopters of this type, an official of the Russian defense industry complex told ARMS-Tass.
The Kazan Helicopter Plant, that is the head contractor on the supply of 30 Mi-17V-5 helicopters to the US ground forces, is making a second batch of six aircraft of this type. The rest helicopters will be delivered during 2014 in batches comprising six helicopters each.
39 Russian helicopters Mi-17V-5 have been delivered to Afghanistan by now. The main contract on the supply of 21 helicopters had been signed between Russia’s Rosoboronexport JSC (Russian Defence Export) and the US government on May 26, 2011 and was fulfilled by the middle of 2012. Last year, Russia completed the supplies of 12 Mi-17V-6 helicopters under an additional agreement concluded with the US government a year earlier under an option to the main contract.
Last year, Rosoboronexport JSC and the US government signed a new major agreement on the supply in 2014 of an additional batch of 30 helicopters. A total of 63 Mi-17V-5 helicopters worth $1,333 billion will be delivered for the Afghan army within the framework of joint efforts to combat international terrorism. All the helicopters are equipped with the night vision system.
Mi-17V-5 is a modern version of the Mi-8/17 type helicopters. It was designed by the design bureau of the M.L. Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant with the participation of the Kazan Helicopter Plant with taking into account the combat experience of its predecessors in various armed conflicts, including in Afghanistan. Today, over 2,400 helicopters of the Mi-8/17 family are used in more than 80 countries.