Russia to Showcase Advanced Helicopter Models at South Africa Expo

Russia will showcase existing and prospective helicopter models at the Africa Aerospace and Defense-2016 forum in South Africa.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Russian Helicopters company, part of the Rostec state corporation, will present current and future helicopter models at the Africa Aerospace and Defense-2016 (AAD 2016) exposition in South Africa, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

"We have a traditionally strong position on African helicopter market, and we see South Africa as an important region for our products' promotion. At this exposition we will showcase the current and future models of military helicopters. We hope that in the future this region's air fleet will include these aircraft as well," the company's CEO Alexander Mikheev said, as quoted in the statement.

At the exposition, Russian Helicopters experts and their colleagues from Rosoboronexport will present the unique capabilities of the Mi-28NE attack helicopter and the Mi-35M multipurpose combat helicopter, as well as the Mi-8/17 military transport helicopter to the representatives of the official delegations and armed forces of the region.

The total number of Russian helicopters in air fleets of African countries is more than 700. Russian Helicopters already operates a service center for Russian civilian aircraft in South Africa in collaboration with Denel Aviation and hopes to expand the export of helicopters to the country.

The AAD 2016 expo is taking place in Pretoria on September 14-18.