The Bangladesh Air Force has inked a contract with Russia’s Rosoboronexport to buy five Mi-171Sh Military Transport Helicopters at an undisclosed value.
The contract signing ceremony was held at Air Headquarters in Dhaka on 12 June 2017. The said Helicopters will be used in UN Peacekeeping operations, an official statement from the Bangladesh MoD said.
Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Abu Esrar, was present in the ceremony. Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Operation & Training) Air Vice Marshal M Naim Hassan, Ageev Dmitry, Deputy Chief of Section, Joint Stock Company “Rosoboronexport” signed the contract on behalf of Bangladesh and the Government of the Russian Federation respectively.
The Mi-171Sh has been designed for operating combat missions to ferry troops to close-in conflict zones. A five-bladed main rotor, a tail rotor and non-retractable tricycle nose-wheel landing gear provide it power and flexibility, according a Russian Helicopters information sheet about the chopper.
The glass cockpit accommodates three crew and cabin houses up to 36 troops, or up to 12 casualties on stretchers. The helicopter can operate in all weather day/night conditions.
The helicopter’s armour protection enables it to survive small-arms fire at close quarters. In terms of anti-missile protection, the Mi-171Sh has an IR-decoy dispensing system to counter infrared homing surface-to-air missile or air-to-air missile.