ISLAMABAD – The Pakistan Army Aviation Corps has begun receiving the Mi-35assault helicopters it ordered from Russia back in 2015, according to areport in *The Diplomatlink>*.
Citing an earlier article that appeared on *Quwa Defense News and AnalysisGroup*, the Tokyo-based online international news magazine reported that avideo has appeared to have surface on the social media which shows a Mi-35helicopter draped in the colours of the Pakistan Armed Forces flyingsomewhere in the country.
*The Diplomat* also stated that an import-export log appeared to record thedelivery of helicopter-related equipment, including ammunition, fromRussian state-owned defense exporter Rosoboronexport to the Pakistan Army.
Last year, it was reported that Russia had handed over four Mi-35Mhelicopters to Pakistan Army Aviation Corps. However, the Japanesepublication noted that the delivery of these choppers likely took place inRussia, and the actual transfer of gunships took place later.
“The contract was signed, we received all four cars [Mi-35Ms] and now weget new equipment,” Brigadier General Waheed Mumtaz of Pakistan’s DefenseExport Promotion Organisation said in Moscow at the time.
Islamabad and Moscow concluded the $153 million helicopter deal duringthen-chief of army staff General (retd) Raheel Sharif’s visit to Russia inJune 2016. A preliminary contract was signed at the Pakistan Army GeneralHeadquarters in Rawalpindi in August 2015.
The Mi-35M attack helicopter, the export version of the Mi-24 gunship, wasdeveloped by the Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been produced inRussia since 2005. Next to serving in the Russian military, the aircrafthas been exported to Azerbaijan, Brazil, Iraq, and Venezuela.
The company website of Russian Helicopters notes that the Mi-35 isparticularly suited for mountainous terrain and can be deployed “round theclock” in adverse weather conditions. The website added that the helicopteroffers “combat use of guided and unguided weapons in regular andchallenging climate conditions” and is “operational for attack flights ataltitudes of 10-25 m daytime and 50 m at night over land or water.”
The helicopter can be deployed for a host of different missions, includingtransporting up to eight paratroopers and carrying military suppliesweighing up to 1,500 kg internally and 2,400 kg externally.
The Mi-35M is armed with a mounted twin-barrel GSh-23V 23 millimeter cannonand 80 and 120 millimeter rockets, as well as anti-tank guided missiles.
The Pakistan military has expressed an interested in procuring up to 20 newMi-35M helicopters in years ahead. “Given the cost of building thenecessary Mi-35M logistics and maintenance infrastructure, expanding thefleet beyond four aircraft would financially be a sound decision for thePakistani military,” the author of the report in *The Diplomat*underlined.
*This article originally appeared in**The Diplomat*link>