Mil Mi-8 maintenance center to open in Azerbaijan

Silk Way's Mi-8 helicopter at Zabrat base (Photo by Russian Aviation Insider)

An authorized maintenance center for Mil Mi-8/17 family helicopters will open in Azerbaijan on the premises of local operator – Silk Way Helicopter Services.

The company signed the respective Memorandum of Understanding with the Russian Helicopters holding during the ongoing International defense industry exhibition ADEX-2016, which is taking place in Baku this week.

The agreement stipulates the creation of a joint venture which will offer MRO services for the fleet of Mi-8/17s operated in Azerbaijan.

According to the document, the center will provide MRO of the helicopters operated by EMERCOM, the Ministry of Defense, the State Border Control Service and the Internal Troops of the Ministry for Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan

In the future the center capabilities will be enhanced adding repair services for Russian-produced military helicopter. Russian Helicopters holding said the negotiations on the issue are already underway.

Silk Way Helicopter Services fleet includes Mi-8МТV-1 and Mi-8АМТ. The company also operates AgustaWestland AW139, Airbus Helicopters AS332 L1 SuperPuma, H155 (formerly Dauphin EC155 B1) and Sikorsky S-92. The operator has plans to become Leonardo Helicopters service center (formerly AgustaWestland) in the region.