Myanmar Junta Becomes First Foreign Recipient of Russian Mi-38 Helicopters

A ceremony in Nay Pyi Taw marked the handover of three Russian Mi-38 helicopters — two Mi-38T transport helicopters and one VIP version for senior officials — to Myanmar’s military authorities.

State-linked Myawady reported that Myanmar is the first foreign recipient of the Mi-38 manufactured by Kazan Helicopters. The contract was likely signed in January 2020, when Rosoboronexport announced it had “signed the first contract with a foreign customer for the supply of the latest Mi-38T airborne transport helicopters.” In September 2020, then-Russian Helicopters CEO Andrey Boginsky said, “we have a signed contract and received an advance payment from a foreign customer for three helicopters.” The customer was later described as a “Southeast Asian country.”

Delivery was delayed due to continued refinement of the Mi-38 helicopter and its TV7-117V engines, as well as political developments in Myanmar, including the February 1, 2021 military coup and the subsequent conflict.

In March 2022, opposition-linked Myanmar sources released leaked documents from Rosoboronexport and Russian Helicopters detailing cooperation plans. These included a commercial offer dated November 22, 2019, covering two Mi-38T transports and one Salon Mi-38T. The offer priced each transport helicopter at €18.89 million and the Salon version at €21.9 million. Optional equipment for the two transports cost €1.48 million, training packages €2.17 million, and maintenance equipment up to 30 percent of the aircraft cost. The full contract was estimated at up to €80 million.

With this delivery, Russia has produced four Mi-38 prototypes and, since 2019, 12 flight production models. Earlier Mi-38 units were supplied to Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations.