Serbia Receives First Two Russian Mi-17V-5 Helicopters

Serbia has taken delivery of first two medium military-transport helicopters, Mi-17V-5, from Russian Helicopters under a contract signed by Rosoboronexport in September 2015.

In addition to the manufacturing of helicopters, it also provided for retraining pilots of the Serbian air force and technical personnel.

"This is the first contract with the Serbian Ministry of Defense for the supply of new helicopters. Its timely implementation is very important and will contribute to further development of relations between our two countries. When we receive a request from the Serbian side, we will be ready to provide timely after-sales service," said Russian Helicopters CEO Alexander Mikheev.

In addition, under the terms of the contract Serbian crews of four pilots and two flight engineers were trained at the Kazan Helicopter Plant’s Aviation Training Center (ATC).  The retraining included a theoretical course, simulator training, as well as daytime and night flights. In addition to the pilots, three master technicians and four radio-electronic equipment.specialists also completed the course.

Starting this year the ATC is implementing a program of outreach flight training for helicopter crews. The rotorcraft was manufactured at Kazan Helicopter Plant. Plant specialists will also conduct flight training in Serbia.