MOSCOW, December 20 (RIA Novosti) – Peru has signed a $400 million deal to buy 24 Mil Mi-171 transport helicopters for its military, Peruvian media reported Friday.

Delivery of the helicopters will begin from the second half of next year and be completed in 2015, the Peruvian Times reported.

A report in Russian newspaper Kommersant on Friday said that deliveries would begin in December 2014, and valued the contract at $500 million.

The deal will also include a flight simulator and establishment of a Russian-operated maintenance center in Peru by 2016, Peruvian newspaper El Comercio reported.

Peru already operates Russian Mi-17 transport and Mi-35 attack helicopters.

The deal was agreed during a visit to Lima in October by Russian military officials, according to Kommersant.

The sale is the latest in a string of commercial successes in Latin America for Russian Helicopters, the holding producing rotorcraft in Russia. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Venezuela have all purchased Mi-17 or Mi-171 helicopters from Russia in recent years.

Lima may also soon conclude deals for more military hardware from Russia worth up to $2.3 billion, including air defense systems, Kommersant said citing Russian defense industry officials.