MOSCOW, September 12 (RIA Novosti) – Russia and Nigeria have signed a contract for the supply of Mi-171Sh and Mi-35 helicopters, Rosoboronexport deputy general director Sergei Goreslavsky told reporters Friday.

“The Mi-171Sh machine is in steady demand on the foreign market. A contract with Nigeria was recently signed,” Goreslavsky said, commenting on the August contract. According to him, the helicopter is in demand in Africa, and Mozambique is very interested in the rotorcraft.

Rosoboronexport”s top manager said several Mi-35M”s will be also sent to Nigeria, without specifying the number of machines under the contract.

Developed from the Mi-8 airframe, the troop-carrying helicopters Mi-171Sh, with the Mi-8AMTSh version for the Russian market, are produced at the Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant. They can be fitted with missiles and air defense equipment.

The helicopter can carry up to 36 paratroopers or 12 injured on stretchers, and cargo weighing up to 4 tons inside the cabin and on its external sling. Mi-171Sh”s sent to Kazakhstan are equipped with flight navigation and radio communication equipment. The chopper was first deployed by the Russian Army in 2009.