Mi-17V5 chopper
- General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others on board a Mi-17V5 IAF helicopter were killed after it crashed in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor.
About Mi-17V5 chopper
- It is a Russian-made helicopter which is produced by Kazan Helicopters.
- The first batch of these helicopters came to India in September 2011.
- It is a military transport variant in the Mi-8/17 family of helicopters.
Features:
- The helicopter has a maximum takeoff weight of 13,000kg. It can transport either 36 armed soldiers internally or 4,500kg of load on a sling.
- It can also be deployed in troop and arms transport, fire support, convoy escort, patrol, and search-and-rescue (SAR) missions.
- The helicopter can achieve a maximum speed of 250 km per hour.
- Survivability of Mi-17V5 transport helicopter: The cockpit and vital components of the helicopter are protected by armoured plates.
- Mi-17V5 weapon systems: Mi-17V5 is armed with Shturm-V missiles, S-8 rockets, a 23mm machine gun, PKT machine guns, and AKM sub-machine guns. It features eight firing posts for aiming the weapons.