The government of India cancelled an order of 48 Mil Mi-17 V5 helicopters of Russian manufacture in the last days.
However this decision is not linked to the war in Ukraine, the order is cancelled with the aim of encouraging the local production of aircraft. Those of Moscow are multi-role rotary wing aircraft manufactured in the city of Kazan, across the border, supplied to the air force of New Delhi, which uses them mainly in transport operations.
It was revealed by the news website “India Today”. As reported, the Indian government’s choice is mainly dictated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s desire to favor local production. New Delhi, in fact, is working on the Indian Medium Role Helicopter program, which involves the development of an indigenous version of the Mil Mi-17 helicopter.
The initial cost of the program has been set at about 1.44 billion dollars. The helicopter will be built by State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (Hal) and a private partner. Another 1.5 billion dollars will be used to finish the project, to start production of the aircraft, of which India requires 500 units.
