Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) is offering its tactical upgrade package to the Indian air force for its Russian-built Mil Mi-8/17Hip utility helicopters. IAI's Lahav division is to display a demonstrator at the Aero India airshow at Bangalore in the middle of February.
The Israeli company will co-operate closely with Hindustan Aeronautics to customise the package to meet the Indian air force's specific requirements for upgrade to at least part of its 160 strong fleet of Mi-8/17s.
The tactical upgrade package includes modular avionics systems with a glass cockpit, an electronic warfare suite and an improved weapons package using subsystems based on equipment developed by Lahav for the Mil Mi-35 Hind and the Kamo-designed Ka-50-2 attack helicopters. The glass cockpit includes night vision goggles-compatible multifunction displays, a digital map which allows mission data to updated in-flight and a helmet-mounted display. Also involved in the upgrade are IAI's Elta, Mata and Tamam division.
Source: Flight International
