Kazan Helicopter Plant has shipped several Mil Mi-8MTV-5 transport helicopters to Rwanda. Also known as the Mi-17MD, the variant is the latest incarnation of the Mi-8 Hip.
The helicopter is fitted with a hydraulic ramp and wide doors on both sides of the cabin, a configuration developed using combat experience from Afghanistan. It allows 36 troops to leave the aircraft in under 2min, minimising exposure to hostile fire.
The Russian helicopter builder is also flight testing a Mi-17MDequipped with western avionics. The helicopter is for South Korea and is being used as part payment of Russia's debt to the Asian nation.
The Progress plant in Arsenyev is assembling six Mil Mi-34s light helicopters for the Nigerian ministry of defence. Around ten piston-engined Mil-34s have been built and it is operational with the Moscow traffic police and the oil fields patrol service in Azerbaidjan. Nigeria is the first customer for the four-seat Mi-34 outside the former Soviet Union.
Source: Flight International
