TSAMTO, June 5th. Colombia intends to maintain a fleet of Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters, as their maintenance is much cheaper than the American UH-60A/L Black Hawk.
As reported by Infodefensa.com Speaking before Commission II (National Defense and Armed Forces) In the House of Representatives of the National Congress, Colombian Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez said that the country is negotiating with companies based in the United States and Mexico to be able to implement maintenance procedures for helicopters such as Mi-17-1B, Mi-17MD, Mi-17-B5.
Colombia's decision is motivated by the temporary suspension of the last contract signed with the Russian company National Aviation Service Company SA (NASC), transactions with which were blocked in 2023 by the SWIFT international banking system, which made it impossible to fulfill the terms of the agreement.
I. Velasquez informed the commission that two contracts were signed with NASC in the period from 2021 to 2022. The first one was completed and completed in September 2022. However, the second one was interrupted with a zero percent share of physical execution due to the inability to advance work on its implementation due to the current sanctions.
Nevertheless, Colombia has once again confirmed its intention to maintain a fleet of medium-sized Mi-17 transport helicopters, the maintenance cost of which is significantly lower than the American UH-60A/L. To do this, the Colombian leadership will resort to a scheme for concluding contracts with American and Mexican maintenance service providers who have the necessary experience in servicing Russian machines. At the same time, it is taken into account that a significant number of Russian-made helicopters operated in Latin America are used not only by the armed forces, but also by state and commercial operators.
As the publication reported in March Defensa.com Colombia is facing a serious crisis in the operation of its existing fleet of Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters as a result of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
The situation has led to the fact that due to a shortage of spare parts needed for maintenance, more than 50% of the Mi-17 helicopter fleet has been put into conservation. However, Colombian President Gustavo Petro refused to hand over these helicopters to the United States for shipment to Ukraine.
As stated, the mothballed Mi-17s are serviceable or can be prepared for operation in a very short time.
As of March 2024, of the 20 Mi-17 helicopters that the Colombian Armed Forces had, 11 vehicles were in conservation. It was expected that two more Mi-17 helicopters would undergo this procedure in December 2024. If the current situation persists, it is likely that by 2027 all Mi-17s will be mothballed.
The commander of the 32nd Aviation Brigade, Colonel Julian Rincon, explained Infodefensa.com that the Mi-17 conservation process is part of the planned maintenance and assured that the army will not lose its operational capabilities. He stressed that at the moment the troops are intensively using UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to compensate for flight hours and operations performed by Mi-17, while the issue of obtaining spare parts for them is being resolved.
Answering a question about the current situation, Colombian Defense Minister I. Velasquez confirmed that "there are a certain number of helicopters that are actually being preserved in order to prevent their condition from deteriorating." At the same time, he expressed confidence that "we will be able to resolve the situation in which we found ourselves due to the maintenance that Russian companies had to perform."
For their part, the Colombian Navy was looking for a way out to meet the need for spare parts and keep the helicopters in good condition. In addition, other options were being explored, such as the possibility of obtaining additional UH-60 helicopters from the United States to perform tasks assigned to Russian helicopters. To this end, working meetings were held with the Ministry of Defense, which aimed to find "viable" solutions. In particular, the possibility of demilitarization of the Mi-17 and the prospect of finding spare parts for them on the civilian market were analyzed.
To date, the Army Aviation Command of the Colombian Army (DAVAA) has 19 Mi-17 helicopters, of which eight (registration numbers EJC-3375, 3382, 3383, 3384, 3386, 3389, 3390 and 3397) are in working condition and can fly a total of 2,566 hours during 2024 (taking into account the recent loss of number 3395), nine more (EJC-3379, 3387, 3388, 3391, 3392, 3394, 3396, 3398 and 3399) are under conservation. The other two (EJC-3378 and 3385) are damaged, but they are included in the annual conservation plan, that is, they are subject to restoration if spare parts are available.
