India's Potential Demand for Russian Helicopters Estimated at 5,000 Units

NEW DELHI, September 10. /TASS/. India's potential demand for Russian helicopters could amount to around 5,000 aircraft, Tatarstan Industry and Trade Minister Oleg Korobchenko told TASS.

He previously said that Tatarstan was exploring the possibility of localizing production of Russian helicopters in India. These include the Mi-38, Mi-8, Mi-34, and Ansat helicopters.

"We have more than 1,000 helicopters in Russia and a population of 150 mln, while they have a population of 1.5 bln. So if we were to compare the figures even at 30%, and they had the same proportion as we do in Russia, they would accordingly need at least 5,000 helicopters to transport people. Five thousand helicopters would be a huge market for us," he said on the sidelines of the Innoprom India international industrial exhibition.

According to the minister, Tatarstan intends to work with the Indian side on options for localizing Russian helicopter production, maintenance services and technology transfers. The potential volume of investment has yet to be determined. "Our task now is to explore as many possibilities as possible so that India's civil aviation market is receptive to resolving this issue with our Russian helicopters. If that happens, we can then reach agreements on both the market and investment," Korobchenko said.

He added that developing local production and service infrastructure would help expand the presence of Russian helicopters in the Indian market and strengthen cooperation between the two countries.

The Innoprom India international exhibition is being held in New Delhi from September 9 to 11.