The Mil Mi-35M attack helicopters operated by the Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira, FAB) will be repaired by JSC Russian Helicopters. The contract was signed with Brazilian Industria de Aviacao e Servisos (IAS) in late 2020. JSC Russian Helicopters will provide repair kits for those units that will be repaired in Brazil, supply a number of new components, and also repair some units in the Russian Federation. The repair of the helicopters will be carried out within the framework of the offset obligations of the Russian side under the contract for the supply of 12 Mi-35M.
The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) signed a $150m contract with Rosoboronexport for 12 Mi-35M helicopters in November 2008. The helicopters were manufactured by Rostvertol at its facility in Rostov-on-Don. The first three helicopters were delivered in December 2009. The Brazilian Air Force started operating three Mi-35M helicopters in April 2010. The helicopters in FAB service are referred to as AH-2 Sabre. Nine helicopters were delivered by August 2012. The final helicopter was delivered in December 2014.
The Mi-35M is a multi-role combat helicopter manufactured by Rostvertol, a subsidiary of Russian Helicopters. It is an export variant of Mi-24 Hind attack helicopter. The attack helicopter can be armed with up to eight 9Ðœ114 or 9M120 Ataka-V SACLOS radio-guided anti-tank missiles, up to 80 ‘S-8′ 80mm unguided rockets and 20 ‘S-13′ type 122mm unguided aircraft rockets.The chin-mounted turret can be installed with the twin-barrel GSh-23V 23mm cannon with 450 to 470 rounds of ammunition. The gun can fire 3,400 to 3,600 rounds a minute.
JSC Russian Helicopters (Vertolety Rossii) is a helicopter design and manufacturing company headquartered in Moscow, Russia. Russian Helicopters is a leading player in the global helicopter industry, the sole Russian rotorcraft designer and manufacturer and one of the few companies worldwide with the capability to design, manufacture, service and test modern civilian and military helicopters. The company’s principal shareholder is Rostec. It is the second-largest based in Russia (after Almaz-Antey).
