It took two years, but the Russian built
Mi-17V5 helicopters finally arrived at U-Tapao Pattaya International
Airport Feb. 12.
Patcharapol Panrak
The Royal Thai Army last month finally took delivery
of three Russian-made helicopters more than two years after announcing
their purchase.
Five disassembled Mi-17V5 choppers arrived at the
U-Tapao Pattaya International Airport Feb. 12, destined for the Army
Aviation Center in Lopburi after 10 days of re-assembly and inspection.
The Army first announced the purchase of the
helicopters in October 2008, using nearly 1 billion baht saved when the
military dropped plans to refurbish 46 grounded UH-1H Huey helicopters.
The 40-year-old copters donated by the United States during the Vietnam
War were deemed to old to repair.
In spending nearly 300 million baht per helicopter,
the Army ended up paying about double what it might have spent when
first offered the helicopters in 2006. But the Army passed up the 168
million baht per copter offer as Thailand had traditionally only
purchased from the U.S.
That changed in early 2008 when the Army bought 36
Russian Igla surface-to-air missiles.
The Army spent 950 million baht on the copters and
set aside 50 million for pilot training and ground equipment.
Considerably larger than the American Black Hawk
helicopters the Army originally wanted, the less-expensive Mi-17s will
be used primarily for transportation. They can carry 36 troops and a
light vehicle at the same time. Black Hawks can carry only 13 troops.
Army officials noted that the helicopters could also
be fitted with Mag-58 and M-60 machine guns should they need to be put
into combat service.
Even though the purchase took more than two years,
the army says it wants three more Mi-17s. It simply needs to find
another billion baht, perhaps by cannibalizing another repair budget,
officials said.
