BELGRADE (Sputnik) – The Republic of Serbia is awaiting the signature of an agreement with Russia on the purchase of two new helicopters this week, the Serbian Ministry of Defense announced Tuesday.
"I expect that a contract on the purchase of two new Mi-17 and Mi-171 helicopters for the needs of the Serbian Army will be signed next week [August 10-16,]" Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic said in a statement.
The decision was reached following Gasic’s visit to the Kazan Helicopter Plant manufacturer at the invitation of the Russian Ministry of Defense last week, according to the press release.
Late last month, the Serbian defense official told local media Belgrade was planning to purchase two military helicopters from Russia and Germany each.
The Mil Mi-17 (NATO reporting name "Hip") transport helicopter and Mil Mi-171, the export variant of Mil Mi-8, enjoys widespread use internationally alongside the Mi-8/Mi-17 family of helicopters.
