Here Comes ‘Repair In India’: Chandigarh To Get Maintenance Centre For Russian MI-17 Helicopters By 2019 End

In a development that will boost India’s self-sufficiency in carrying out defence repairs, the country is set to get its own centre for carrying out repair works on Russian Mi-17V-5 type helicopters within 2019, reports TASS.

The revelation was made by Russian Helicopters deputy director general Igor Chechikov while he was speaking to media persons on Wednesday (27 March) during the LIMA 2019 air show.

"The Russian side is carrying out pre-commissioning activities as part of an offset to create the Major Repair Center in the city of Chandigarh for a number of main units and subsystems of helicopters of Mi-17V-5 type. There are plans to start their testing repairs before the end of 2019," he stated.

Chechikov also stated that his company would be willing to expand the capabilities of this centre in the future if the Indian side showed interest.

Currently, the Mil Mi-17 is the primary transport helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF), with an estimated 148 units of its Mi-17V-5 variant being in current use.