Six Mi-17-V helicopters, ordered by Indonesia from Russia in 2003, arrived at the Indonesian Navy's airbase in Surabaya, East Java, on Wednesday, Antara reported. The Indonesian Defense Ministry's director general for defense facilities Rear Marshal Eris Heriyanto, Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Alexander Ivanov, and a number of Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) officials were present at the air base when the brand-new helicopters arrived. Fully armed, the six helicopters are to be used by the Army's Aviation Center (Penerbad). Russian Ambassador Ivanov said the helicopters were reliable and had been used in many countries. "These helicopters can be used not only for military purposes but also for non-military assignments such as disaster mitigation operations, " he said. The envoy also said the arrival of the helicopters also marked the sound bilateral relations existing between Indonesia and Russia, especially in the military field.
