In November and December this year, Russian Helicopters (part of State Corporation Rostec) delivered eight new Mi-171Sh military transport helicopters to Peru’s Ministry of Defence as contracted. The helicopters were well received by Peru’s leadership.

The ceremony marking the new Mi-171Sh helicopters’ acceptance into service with Peru’s Air Force was attended by President of Peru Ollanta Humala Tasso, the country’s Minister of Defence Pedro Cateriano Bellido, and other leading officials. During his speech at the Air Force base in Callao, Peru’s president noted that, thanks to this delivery, Peru is the third leading power in Latin America in terms of the number of transport helicopters.

Peru’s Defence Minister Pedro Cateriano Bellido said that expanding the fleet with Russian helicopters will make it possible to renew the Air Force’s operational capabilities, and retool remote bases and border observation posts. Group Commander Omar Gonzales stressed that the Mi-171Sh’s advantages include its powerful engines that can operate at great altitudes, including in the Andes.

The new Mi-171Sh helicopters performed a demonstration flight during the ceremony. The President of Peru went up in one of them, and completed a 30 minute flight, after which he praised the helicopter for it is ease of navigation and high flight capabilities. Peru’s Ministry of Defence praised the quality of the helicopters’ construction and wide range of additional equipment.

Thanks to the Mi-171Sh helicopters, it will be possible to deliver aid to remote provinces along the Amazon River basin and in the highlands of the Andes, and they will also prove useful in military operations along the Apurimac, Ene and Mantaro rivers as part of counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism operations and missions targeting groups involved in illegal mining.

Mi-171Sh helicopters are made by Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant, which is part of Russian Helicopters. Peruvian specialists were trained in 2014 at the plant’s Aviation Training Centre. They used the latest Mi-171 training suite and latest training techniques to learn how to pilot the helicopters in a range of different weather conditions, and engineering specialists were trained in helicopter maintenance.

The contract to deliver 24 helicopters to Peru was signed in December 2013, by Russia’s military goods exporter Rosoboronexport. Under it, 24 helicopters are to be delivered to Peru, with two batches of four helicopter delivered in 2014, and the rest to follow in 2015. A maintenance centre for Russian helicopters will also be established in Peru. The first batch of Mi-171Sh helicopters was delivered a month ahead of schedule. The delivery included supplies intended to support their use.