Russian Defense Ministry Receives New Batch of Mi-8MTV-5 Military Transport Helicopters

The Russian defense ministry received a new batch of five Mi-8MTV-5 military transport helicopters on July 20, it was announced in a corporate press release Friday.

During a video conference with the National Center for Defense of the State, the managing director of the Kazan Helicopter Plant, Yuri Pustovgarov, said that the next batch of Mi-8MTV-5-1 helicopters had successfully passed all kinds of tests provided for by technical specifications and state contract.

The press service of Russian Helicopters holding said that it plans to ship several more helicopter shipments this year, which are at different stages of production.

"The fulfillment of the requirements of the state defense order is a key task for the Russian Helicopters holdings. Based on the analysis of operational experience of helicopters in the military units, work is being done to improve the tactical, technical and operational characteristics of the Mi-8MTV-5-1 helicopters, as well as to increase their combat survivability, "said Deputy General Director of the Russian Helicopters holding, Rostekh, helicopter technology Vladislav Saveliev.

According to the press service, the latest batch of helicopters have installed a new system of creating passive jamming, and installed an on-board defense complex providing protection for the helicopter from missiles with infrared-guided aiming heads.

The Mi-8MTV-5-1 is supplied to Russia’s military and law-enforcement agencies, and is designed to transport up to 4,000 kg of cargo and equipment. The helicopter can also fly search-and-rescue missions and carry out a number of specialized tasks.