Image source: topwar.ru
The West African state of Benin has recently faced an increasing threat from Al-Qaeda and ISIS [terrorist organizations banned in the Russian Federation].
As reported in the Western edition of Military Africa, in the fight against them, the government has relied on army aviation. It is planned to purchase 10 helicopters. Two of them – H125 – have already been transferred to Airbus. It was also supposed to purchase two Russian Mi-171Es, repurposing them for military needs.
- it is indicated in the press.
As the author notes, "[the company's] production lines were disrupted [probably meaning overloaded] by the conflict [in Ukraine]."
- the author writes.
For our part, we note that the above message raises doubts. The reason that the deal was thwarted (if it was the case at all) may be due to difficulties with the payment of helicopters from Benin caused by Western sanctions against Russia. At least, similar problems were observed in military-technical cooperation with India, until a settlement mechanism bypassing the dollar was developed.
