MOSCOU, 3 octobre - RIA Novosti

Le commandant de la force internationale de l'Otan en Afghanistan (ISAF) John Campbell a qualifié d'"incroyables" les capacités de l'hélicoptère russe Mi-17, rapportent vendredi les médias occidentaux.

"J'ai étudié un enregistrement de l'atterrissage de quatre Mi-17 dans une zone très exiguë, difficile et poussiéreuse. Ces appareils ont transporté les militaires à un endroit précis et à une heure précise, en toute sécurité. Qui plus est, ils étaient capables de leur apporter des renforts pendant les deux ou trois jours suivants, volant à une altitude très basse dans des zones très difficiles d'accès", a fait savoir le général.

En mai 2011, l'agence russe d'exportation d'armements Rosoboronexport et le département US de la Défense ont signé un contrat sur la livraison de 21 hélicoptères de combat et de transport Mi-17VB5 en Afghanistan. Ce contrat a été réalisé à la mi-2012.

Un nouveau contrat portant sur la livraison de 30 hélicoptères russes Mi-17V-5 (version exportée de l'hélicoptère Mi-8) à l'Armée nationale afghane a été conclu à la mi-juin 2012. Cependant, sur fond de crise ukrainienne, l'Otan a gelé sa coopération avec Moscou en Afghanistan, dont le projet de livraison d'hélicoptères russes.

MOSCOU, 27 juin - RIA Novosti

La suspension de la coopération entre la Russie et l'Otan se répercutera sur l'aptitude au combat de l'armée afghane, a déclaré dans une interview l'ambassadeur de Russie en Afghanistan, Andreï Avetissian. 

"L'Otan a décidé de réduire la coopération avec la Russie. Malheureusement, ceci aura un effet direct sur l'aptitude au combat de l'armée afghane. Apparemment, il s'agit d'une approche à courte vue de la part de nos partenaires de l'Otan, dont ils feront les frais au bout du compte. L'armée afghane n'acquerra pas l'aptitude au combat requise", a expliqué le diplomate. 

Sur fond de crise politique en Ukraine, dont l'Occident rejette la responsabilité sur la Russie, l'Otan a suspendu début avril sa coopération civile et militaire avec la Russie.  

Dans le cadre de la coopération entre la Russie et l'Alliance, Washington achetait à Moscou des hélicoptères Mi-17 destinés à l'Afghanistan: en mai 2011, l'agence russe d'exportation d'armements Rosoboronexport et le département US de la Défense ont signé un contrat sur la livraison de 21 hélicoptères de combat et de transport Mi-17VB5 en Afghanistan. Ce contrat a été réalisé à la mi-2012. Le contrat de 2011 prévoyait en outre une option d'achat de 12 autres hélicoptères Mi-17V-5 pour l'armée afghane. 

Un nouveau contrat prévoyant la livraison de 30 hélicoptères russes Mi-17V-5 (version exportée de l'hélicoptère Mi-8) à l'Armée nationale afghane a été conclu à la mi-juin 2013.

13.04.2014 Rostec

The helicopter will be delivered part of a contract signed by Rosoboronexport

Russian Helicopters, a subsidiary of Oboronprom, part of State Corporation Rostec, has built the 3,500th export version of the Mi-17 at Kazan Helicopters. The helicopter will be delivered to the Indian Armed Forces as part of a contract signed by Rosoboronexport in 2012.

A contract for 80 military transport Mi-17V-5 helicopters was signed by Rosoboronexport in 2008, and all obligations have been met by the Russian side. In 2012 - 2013 India ordered a further 71 helicopters, which are currently being built by Russian Helicopters to the agreed schedule.

“South and South-East Asia are a core region for promoting Russian manufacturing. Our helicopters are well-known here and demand has remained constant,” Russian Helicopters CEO Alexander Mikheev said. “Today more than 250 helicopters built at our facilities are operational in India. They are used for flight training, personnel-carrying, search-and-rescue and medevac missions, and providing assistance in emergencies. Thanks to their unique abilities they can operate in even the most adverse weather conditions, and complete their missions with distinction.”

In summer 2013 Russian-built military transport helicopters were involved in evacuating people after torrential rains caused severe flooding in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. In February this year Mi-17V-5 helicopters evacuated about 200 residents of villages in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir in the Himalayas after they became cut off from the rest of the region following cold weather and heavy snowfall.

The Mi-17V-5s being delivered to India are part of the legendary Mi-8/17 series, and are built on the construction solutions of previous generations of the series. All of the helicopters are fitted with a KNEI-8 avionics suite and a new PKV-8 autopilot, which helps reduce pilot workload and provides comprehensive information to enable pilots to complete complex missions. In addition, the helicopters being supplied to India are fitted with modern powerful engines, significantly expanding their capabilities for transporting heavy and bulky loads, particularly in the high mountain terrain characteristic of northern India.

Soviet- and Russian-built helicopters have operated successfully in India for more than half a century. The first Mi-4s were delivered in January 1961; in the decades since, Mi-26s, Mi-24/35s, Mi-8/17s have all been supplied to India.

Russian Helicopters attaches particular importance to providing after-sales maintenance services in regions where it supplies helicopters. The parties are currently collaborating on the development of an offset programme aimed at expanding India’s capabilities to provide maintenance services for Russian helicopters.

Russian Helicopters is also interested in developing the Indian market for commercial helicopters. Today development work is ongoing on the new multirole Mi-171A2, which could potentially expand the fleet of Russian-built helicopters in India. The new helicopter is the latest addition to the Mi-8/17 series and over time will replace its predecessors from this illustrious series. The Mi-171A2 has been designed using the latest materials and aerospace technologies, and will come with an upgraded power plant, new rotor system and modern avionics suite.

Russian Helicopters is currently participating in India Aviation 2014, where it is showcasing its current and forthcoming models to operators from South and South-East Asia. India Aviation 2014 is taking place at the exhibition centre of Begumpet airport in Hyderabad, and the company’s stand can be found in Sector B at stand 42.

Russia's military export organization Rosoboronexport said Nov. 1 that it had completed deliveries to the US government of 12 transport helicopters destined for the Afghan National Army. (MC2 David Quillen / US Navy)

Nov. 1, 2013 - By ANDREW CHUTER – Defense News

LONDON — Russia’s military export organization Rosoboronexport said Nov. 1 that it had completed deliveries to the US government of 12 transport helicopters destined for the Afghan National Army.

Deliveries were completed last month, said the state-owned company in a statement. The 12 Mi-17V-5s were ordered in 2012 when the US government took up a $217 million option to purchase additional machines as a result of an earlier 2011 deal.

That deal involved the purchase by the US of 21 Mi-17s to bolster Afghan military transport capabilities in the run-up to the withdrawal of NATO combat forces by the end of next year.

At one point, the US Congress tried to block the purchase of helicopters from Rosoboronexport due to Russia’s continuing supply of military equipment to the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, which is fighting a civil war with rebels. The Pentagon managed to sidestep the attempted ban.

Completion of deliveries of the latest batch of Mi-17s leaves a further 30 of the rotorcraft to be handed over to the US in 2014 under a $572 million deal Rosoboronexport signed earlier this year.

WASHINGTON, September 18 (RIA Novosti)

A group of US lawmakers is urging Attorney General Eric Holder to assist the Pentagon’s criminal investigation into an Army aviation unit which granted contracts worth tens of millions of dollars to Russian and US firms for the maintenance and overhaul of Russian Mi-17 helicopters.

Nine senators and 23 members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to Holder Monday expressing ‘great concern’ regarding allegations of criminal activity related to the helicopter program, writing that “The prospect that American taxpayers have been made into unwitting victims of corruption demands special scrutiny.”

The lawmakers urged Holder "to utilize all available resources, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation to support any criminal investigation into these matters."

Defense Department investigators are studying potential personal connections and possibly “improper” payments between the former head of the Army’s Non-Standard Rotary Wing Aircraft (NSRWA) unit and two Russian-owned subcontractors, Avia Baltika and St. Petersburg Aircraft Repair Co. (SPARC), according to Reuters.

The maintenance deals under investigation are part of a broader Pentagon program to purchase and upgrade Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters for use in Afghanistan.

The lawmakers’ letter to Holder also said, “Since 2011, NSRWA has negotiated and executed more than $1 billion worth of contracts for procurement of these Russian aircraft from Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state-controlled arms exporter who simultaneously continues to supply weapons and ammunition to the Syrian government.”

There has been stern opposition from some members of Congress to the Pentagon’s dealings with Rosoboronexport, which is not a focus of the investigation, according to Reuters.

Justice Department spokesman Michael Passman said in an email cited by Reuters Tuesday: "We have received the letter, and we are reviewing it."

WASHINGTON, 18 juillet - RIA Novosti

Le Pentagone a toujours l'intention d'acheter des hélicoptères russes Mi-17 destinés à l'armée afghane, a déclaré jeudi à Washington le président du Comité des chefs d'Etats-majors interarmées des Etats-Unis Martin Dempsey.

"Je soutiens ce programme. Nous ne pouvons pas y renoncer, puisque les forces afghanes devront prochainement prendre en charge la sécurité dans le pays", a indiqué le général Dempsey.

Plusieurs parlementaires américains proposent aux autorités de renoncer à l'achat d'hélicoptères russes pour l'Afghanistan en signe de protestation contre les livraisons d'armes russes à la Syrie.

Moscou et Washington ont signé un contrat prévoyant la livraison de 30 hélicoptères russes Mi-17V5 (version exportée de l'hélicoptère Mi-8) à l'Armée nationale afghane à la mi-juin dernier. En mai 2011, l'agence russe d'exportation d'armements Rosoboronexport et le département US de la Défense ont signé un contrat sur la livraison de 21 hélicoptères de combat et de transport Mi-17B5 en Afghanistan. Le contrat prévoyait en outre une option d'achat de 12 autres hélicoptères russes pour l'armée afghane.