Russia completes helicopter deliveries to Afghanistan

MOSCOW, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Russia's Rosoboronexport has completed its delivery of 63 Mi-17V-5 military-transport helicopters to the Afghan National Army.

The helicopters were produced for Afghanistan under a 2011 contract between Rosoboronexport and the U.S. Department of Defense.

The aircraft were manufactured by Kazan Helicopters, part of Russian Helicopters.

"Rosoboronexport proved itself a reliable supplier of military helicopters, and in implementing the contract to supply Mi-17V-5 helicopters to Afghanistan was highly evaluated by its U.S. partners." Russian Helicopters said. "Mi-8/17 helicopters have shown that they perform well in Afghanistan, with its challenging climate and mountainous areas."

The Mi-17, which NATO has designated as the Hip, is a twin-turbine aircraft, which comes in transport and gunship variants. It has a maximum speed of 155 miles per hour and a range of 289 miles. It is flown by dozens of countries around the world.

Russian Helicopters said Russia's Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation ready to discuss with the United States potential future supplies of Mi-type helicopters to Afghanistan, as well as well as maintenance and after-sales servicing.

The Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS) is a federal executive body responsible for control and oversight in the field of military-technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and foreign countries.

Rosboronexport, part of the Rostec State Corporation, is Russia's intermediary agency for the import and export of defense products and services.