A contract for the procurement of 80 Mi 17-V5 helicopters along with spares and the associated equipment was signed between Ministry of Defence and M/s Rosoboronexport, Russia on 5th December 2008 at a cost of US $ 1,345,836,495.83.

The Mi-17-V5 helicopters will be utilised for Special Heliborne Operations, air-maintenance, transportation of troops and equipment, search and rescue, casualty evacuation and in armed helicopter roles. The delivery of these helicopters is likely to commence by March 2011.

This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri Sonawane Pratap Narayanrao in Lok Sabha today.