Article Posted on : - Apr 20, 2010

The Mi-35 attack helicopter.

BRASILIA (BNS): The Brazilian Air Force has received its first batch of three MI-35 attack helicopters from Russia.

The helicopters, designated ‘AH-2 Sabre’ in Brazil, arrived at the Porto Velho air base on April 17, 2010, the Brazilian Defence Ministry said.

Brazil had signed a US$363.9 million deal with Russia in October 2008 to acquire 12 MI-35 attack helicopters from Russian company Rostvertol. The contract also included support, maintenance and training of pilots along with installation of various equipments including flight simulators on the helicopters which would be done in Brazil.

The remaining nine MI-35s are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2011, the ministry said.

The MI-35 attack helicopter is the export version of Russian-made MI-24V (NATO designated Hind-E). The MI-24 family of helicopter gunships has been designed for use in combat missions and also for troop transportation.

The MI-35 is equipped with advanced 9M114 Shturm anti-tank missiles, eight of which can be mounted on its four outer wing pylons.