Posted on 09/17/2016 12:27:15 PM PDT by Lorianne
Russia is to export military Mi-8/17 and Mi-24/35 helicopters to four African countries this year and next, according to Tass news agency.
"In 2016-2017, we plan to continue exporting these helicopters to Angola, Mali, Sudan, Nigeria," Tass quoted Rosoboronexport's Yury Demchenko, head of a Russian delegation to the Africa Aerospace & Defense Expo, as saying. "Our position in the African helicopter market is solid, so we are optimistic about the prospects of cultivating it further."
In the 2014-2016 period, Russia exported helicopters to Angola, Sudan, Rwanda and Uganda.
Demchenko said many African countries prefer to purchase inexpensive equipment, particularly used equipment. The Mi-8/17 and Mi-24/35 exported to Africa had all gone through "major renovation," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
Renovated? Labor in Russia is cheap.
Without Russian pilots they’ll be corroded hangar queens within a year.
The Russian helicopters tend to be simple to fly and maintain. The US was operating Mi-17’s in Afghanistan.
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