Pakistan To Get 4 ‘Hind’ Attack Helicopters From Russia

Pakistan signed an agreement with Russia to buy four MI-35 ‘Hind E’ attack helicopters.

“An agreement was signed between Pakistan and Russian authorities in Rawalpindi for the purchase of four MI-35 helicopters,” Dawn, Pakistani news daily quoted a senior military official as saying on Wednesday.

The Mi-35 helicopter is a modernized version of Mi-24 combat helicopter with new onboard equipment and avionics. The helicopter has a more powerful engine and a different tail rotor.

The official did not mention a timeline regarding the delivery and configuration of the helicopters.

The agreement was finalized by Pakistani Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif during his recent visit to Russia in June this year.

Pakistan currently has a number of ‘Mi-17′ helicopters delivered by the US to assist in the fight against militancy.

The negotiations for the deal started last year after Russia sent a draft contract to Pakistan for the dispatch of four Mil Mi-35M combat helicopters.

Pakistan and Russia had signed a bilateral defence cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening military-to-military relations in November last year. The deal had to be followed by another ‘technical cooperation agreement’ to pave the way for sale of defence equipment to Pakistan, Dawn reported.

Besides helicopters, Pakistan also appears interested in other Russian hardware.