US Army Owned Russian Mi-17 Helicopters

In a small ceremony Thursday, Army Col. Bert Vergez got the keys to a couple of big things he badly wanted this holiday season: Russian-built Mi-17 helicopters.

He promptly handed them over to officials at Science and Engineering Services, which is already working in a facility at Huntsville International Airport to modify and modernize three other used Mi-17s with U.S.-standard avionics and other features. They are all destined for Fort Rucker, Ala., and the Army Aviation Center of Excellence, where they will join a small but growing fleet used for training pilots and crew chiefs.

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Thanks to Kjfitz for running down this link: http://blog.al.com/huntsville-times-business/2011/12/russian_helicopters.html