The U.S. Department of Defense is buying Russian helicopters?

I guess it is only a bad thing when Syria or Iran does the same.

Rosoboronexport FGUP, Moscow, Russia, was awarded a $171,380,636 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the modification of an existing contract to procure 10 additional Mi-17 helicopters. Work will be performed in Russia, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2016. One bid was solicited, with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-11-C-0072).

Sure why not, maybe they can buy some old submarines from China with the money I send to the IRS every year.

reply to post by cybro
Interesting. Wonder if they're to be used as part of the cheaper transportation vehicles in the troubled region.

whats wrong with russian heli's ?????????they are relialble...!

Possibly these airframes are due for the Afghanistan region or possibly to be passed on to the afghan gov

The problem is this ........most NATO helis cannot operate or operate safely in the mountainous altitudes of that region.
What is used for these areas of operations are the 'old skool' soviet airframes like the hip the halo and the ........damn forgotten its NATO designation but I think it's hook ??
As these helis can operate at much higher altitudes
Very VERY simple yet robust designs
I remember flying to .......Bagram I think it was, in a hip and I was impressed by the altitude it could maintain, but was a little ......concerned at the age and durability of the aircraft

A few days later that very same air frame was picking up special forces from a strike op - clipped a cliff face in the valley with its tail boom and dropped out the sky into a hostile village
I was on the recovery team

reply to post by Neocrusader
Yep. I did read about the ones to be used in Afghanistan and also to be used as transportation and/or rescue/recovery of material from the theater.

reply to post by hp1229


Yeah these are primarily transport helis the halo being f'ing huge
The soviet/Russian attack helis are/were the hind havoc and hokum ( I think it was the hokum ?)
Hinds still being very much in use world wide, the havoc is a smaller attack heli akin to the apache ( actually featured in Rambo 3 - the Russian little heli )
And the hokum - a twin rotored 'apache killer' designed to hunt other attack helis

This is from memory, it may not be hokum, and I may have hokum/havoc the wrong way around lol
But if your interested I'm sure there's something online regarding these little known helis

But now I'm told this contract has been cancelled by the US due to Russia's supposed supplies to Syria

Originally posted by Neocrusader
But now I'm told this contract has been cancelled by the US due to Russia's supposed supplies to Syria

wouldn't be surprised. Its a nightmare from start to completion once a RFP has been accepted to the time the services/material is delivered to DOD Moreoever, FBO.GOV doesn't update as it should