Russian Helicopters Launch Mi-8 Test Programme In Indonesia

JAKARTA: Russia’s Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant (U-UAP) has launched its first operational test programme for the Mi-8/171 type helicopter in Indonesia, the company said today.

Russian Helicopters holding company belonging to state corporation Rostec said the pilot project is being implemented in Indonesia, where two Mi-8AMT helicopters are already involved in firefighting operations in the Indonesian territory of Borneo island.

The programme is aimed at the assessing the advantages of the helicopters’ actual operations in conjunction with all available corporate support tools and aftersales services of Russian Helicopters holding company.

“Helicopters sent to the Republic of Indonesia with crew and technical staff of U-UAP were relocated to the island of Kalimantan almost immediately upon arrival to extinguish forest fires. In the future, the rotorcraft will be on operational duty on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan,” a Russian Helicopters statement said.

“A contract with PT National Utility Helicopters (PT NUH), an utility helicopter operator in Indonesia with 50 years of experience in providing services for the Indonesian Government as well as private companies, has become the pilot project of this programme.

The main task under the contract is to carry out firefighting operations in the region, as well as provide consulting services regarding the formation of its own air fleet of Indonesian operators for annual firefighting operations” said Leonid Belykh, Managing Director of U-UAP.

In the process of temporary use of helicopters, the customer gets the opportunity to consult the company’s specialists in 24/7 mode, access to a replacement fund and a fund for additional equipment.

“It is worth noting, that one of the first Mi-171A2 helicopters manufactured by the enterprise, has been participating in a test operation programme at UTair-VU airline since 2018, where it successfully fulfilled the tasks facing the operator and demonstrates high flight performances. The experience of the joint work of the manufacturer and the customer was reflected in the U-UAP helicopter test operation programme for Indonesia.

Mi-8/171 helicopters have been deployed in various disaster relief operations not only in Russia, but also worldwide. They have proved themselves as one of the most effective tools in the firefighting, medical delivery and casualty evacuation operations, as well as in passenger and cargo transportation to hard-to-reach areas.

JSC Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant is one of the manufacturing enterprises of Russian Helicopters holding company. Modern production and technological capacity of its  plant allows it to organise quickly production of new types of aircraft, combining creation of prototypes with aircraft serial production. During the 80 years of existence the plant have produced more than 8,000 airframes. Today the plant specialises in production of Mi-8AMT (Mi-171E), Mi-171 and Mi-8AMTSh (Mi-171Sh) helicopters. –shp/iz/mgm (Photo: Mi8AMT with roundel of Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB) or National Disaster Management Authority/Russian Helicopters)