Peru Interested in Buying Russian Helicopters to Fight Wildfires

The Peruvian firefighters expressed interest for the high-altitude version of Russian multirole Mi-171 helicopter, according to the statement of the Russian Helicopters company.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Peruvian Fire Department is interested in purchasing Russian multirole Mi-171 helicopters to fight wildfires and carry out search and rescue operations in mountainous areas, the Russian Helicopters company said in a statement on Monday.

"The Peruvian firefighters gave a high assessment to the Mi-171 helicopters, having pointed out the positive experience of using analogous aircraft in the country’s Air Force and Land Force’s aviation, and expressed interest for the high-altitude version of this helicopter," the statement said.

The Russian company held necessary consultations and pointed out that the high-altitude version of the Mi-171 helicopter is equipped with the VK-2500 high-altitude engines with the Safir power unit and the boosted transmission.

The helicopter can also be upgraded with a 4,000-liter (over 1,050 gallons) water discharge device and the equipment necessary for evacuating injured people from emergency zones.

The negotiations were held on the sidelines of the 7th International Exhibition of Technology in Defense and Prevention of Natural Disasters (SITDEF-2017) that took place in Peru last week.