Posted on 10/17/2006 6:57:44 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
India to buy 80 copters from Russia New Delhi, Oct. 16 (Xinhua): The Indian Air Force (IAF) will buy 80 medium lift multi-role Mi-17 1V helicopters from Russia, Indo-Asian News Service reported Sunday.
The news agency quoted Chief of Air Staff Marshal (ACM), S P Tyagi, as saying that the procedure of purchase is expected to be over within a few months.
Russia will start delivering the helicopters in 2007 and finish it within a year, he said.
Tyagi did not mention the cost of the purchase, but it could be around 30 billion rupees (662 million US dollars) depending on the configurations and on-board equipment like avionic, the news said.
Mi-17 1V is an upgrade to Mi-17, a derivative of Mi-8 which has long-served in the Indian Air Force and gradually phased out.
With a service ceiling of six km, the Mi-17 1V has functioned well in hot, high and humid conditions. It can transport troops and cargo, undertake fire-fighting, medical evacuation and search and rescue missions, and can also be quickly armed for combat and special operations.
Helicopters have played an important role in flying supplies to Indian troops in high altitude areas in the Himalayas as well as to carry out rescue operation in natural disasters.
The Air Force also expected the government to announce tenders for the 126 multi-role combat aircraft very soon, Tyagi said.
Maybe their military equipment works better than their medical equipment...but then...? We did humanitarian work in Belarus a few years ago, and it was quite a shock to be shown room after room of Russian-made medical equipment just sitting there, useless...never even worked one day after uncrating it! We're talking big stuff! LOTS & LOTS of it!
Russia is not our friend. But they're a long-time friend of India.
India is Russia friend, Pakistain is our friend. LOL, way to go state department!
The helicopter in question is one of the most reliable high-altitude platforms ever, probably the only one being used in the heights of the Indian Himalayas.
Oldies but goodies.....
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1145693/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1145693/posts
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Images/Current/
We did humanitarian work in Belarus a few years ago, and it was quite a shock to be shown room after room of Russian-made medical equipment just sitting there, useless...never even worked one day after uncrating it! We're talking big stuff! LOTS & LOTS of it!==
Are you sure that it was really russian-made medical equipment? Maybe you mistook it with georgian-made or soviet-made?:)
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