aerobd.news : As part of the contract with the government of Equatorial Guinea, Russian Helicopters holding company (part of Rostec State Corporation) produced and transferred to the customer two Mi-172 helicopters manufactured at Kazan Helicopters (KVZ). The vehicles have already been sent to Central Africa. One of the helicopters produced under the contract is being delivered in the Salon VIP modification. The vehicle is designed for transportation of up to 12 passengers in greater comfort. The custom-made interior is equipped with all the necessary up-to-date hardware and uses high-quality materials. The second Mi-172 has been transferred in the passenger modification. It can transport up to 26 people in comfortable conditions.

“Equatorial Guinea is a long-time partner of Russian Helicopters. In 2006, we also delivered two Mi-172 helicopters in Salon VIP and Passenger modifications to the country. I would like to note that Russian helicopters are popular in Africa due to their advantages: reliability, easy operation, good price/quality ratio. Therefore, I am sure that this contract will not be the last one,” said the CEO of the Russian Helicopters holding company, Andrey Boginsky. The Mi-172 is one of the Mi-17 pattern helicopters that is certified for passenger transportation and has established itself as a reliable vehicle with a high level of safety. The Mi-172 is a classical single-rotor helicopter with an antitorque rotor and a twin-engine power unit. The improved performance of the helicopter meets special requirements for passenger transportation. In addition to the passenger and VIP modifications, there are also transport, medical and evacuation, search and rescue, military and firefighting models of this vehicle.

Specific features of the Mi-172 include the large power reserve of the power unit, excellent altitude characteristics, a spacious cockpit, various options of avionics, and autonomous preparation for flights and maintenance. The Mi-8/17 pattern helicopters are designed for operation in any climatic conditions as they can be used in a wide temperature range (from -50°С to +50°С). Today, there are a total of 400 Mi-8/17 helicopters in countries on the African continent. JSC Russian Helicopters (part of Rostec State Corporation) is one of the world leaders in helicopter industry, the only developer and manufacturer of helicopters in Russia. The holding company was established in 2007. The head office is located in Moscow. The holding company is comprised of five helicopter plants, two design bureaus, enterprises for production and maintenance of components, aircraft repair plants and a service company providing after-sales support in Russia and abroad. Among the buyers of the holding company’s products are the Defense Ministry of Russia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, EMERCOM of Russia, and other state customers, Gazprom Avia and UTair airlines, as well as major Russian and foreign companies.

Rostec Corporation is a Russian corporation that was established in 2007 to facilitate the development, production and export of high-tech industrial products designed for civilian and military applications. The Corporation comprises over 700 organizations that are currently part of eleven holding companies operating in the military-industrial complex and four holding companies working in civilian industry, as well as over 80 directly managed organizations. Rostec’s portfolio includes well-known brands such as AVTOVAZ, KAMAZ, Kalashnikov Concern, Russian Helicopters, VSMPO AVISMA, UralVagonZavod, etc. Rostec companies are located in 60 constituent entities of the Russian Federation and supply products to more than 100 countries. In 2017 the consolidated revenue of Rostec reached 1 trillion 589 billion rubles, while the consolidated net income and EBITDA amounted to 121 and 305 billion rubles respectively. In 2017 the average salary in the Corporation was 46,800 rubles. According to Rostec’s strategy, the main objective of the Corporation is to ensure that Russia has a technological advantage in highly competitive global markets. Rostec’s key objectives include the introduction of a new techno-economic paradigm and digitalization of Russian economy.