MOSCOW (Xinhua): Russia’s newest Mi-38T military transport helicopter made her maiden flight Friday as part of the preliminary testing program, the state-owned Rostec conglomerate said in a statement.
“The successful first flight of the Mi-38T is the undoubted success of the Russian helicopter industry,” Anatoly Serdyukov, industrial director of Rostec’s aviation segment, said in the statement.
He characterized the Mi-38T as a unique machine created entirely on the basis of domestic components with great potential in terms of increasing its functionality and capabilities, including for operations in the Arctic.
The Mi-38T, the military version of the civilian Mi-38 chopper, was manufactured by the Kazan Helicopter Plant under the order of the Russian Defense Ministry as part of the state armament program for 2018-2025.
According to Rostec, the helicopter can be transformed into an air ambulance and equipped with an additional fuel tank to increase its flight range.