Myanmar has taken delivery of three Russian Mi-38T medium helicopters, becoming the first foreign operator of the rotary-wing aircraft family after a long-delayed 2020 contract.
The package includes two transport models and one VIP variant built by Moscow’s state-owned Kazan Helicopters, with the induction ceremony presided over by Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw.
The platforms were flown to Myanmar in September. Videos that circulated later that month showed at least one Mi-38T operating inside the country, possibly for a trial flight, according to Frontier India.
During the event, Myanmar also commissioned two new Chinese Y-18F 120W turboprop transports.
Acquisition Details
Russian officials first hinted in 2020 that a Southeast Asian nation had become the first Mi-38 export customer after receiving an advance payment for three aircraft.
In 2022, documents leaked by Myanmar opposition groups outlined the value of two Mi-38T transports and one VIP “Salon” model.
The proposal list prices were 18.8 million euros ($21.7 million) per transport and 21.9 million euros ($25.3 million) for the VIP variant.
With added costs for training, optional modules, fuel tanks, and maintenance kits, the estimated total contract value is reportedly around 80 million euros ($92.4 million).
Sources said the five-year lag between the 2020 deal and the recent handover was tied to the Mi-38’s ongoing development and its Klimov engines, as well as political upheaval in Myanmar following a coup in 2021.
Other Mi-38 projects in Russia have faced similar delays, including two VIP orders for its Ministry of Defense and nine Mi-38PS rescue helicopters for the Ministry of Emergency Situations, for which the delivery schedule has repeatedly slipped.
The Mi-38T
Russia’s 20-meter (66-foot) Mi-38T is powered by two Klimov TV7-117V turboshaft engines with approximately 2,800 horsepower each.
It is operated by a crew of two and can either carry up to 30 personnel or about 6,000 kilograms (13,228 pounds) of internal payload, as well as 7,000 kilograms (15,432 pounds) of external cargo.
The helicopter can reach altitudes of up to 6,300 meters (20,669 feet), travel at 160 knots (296 kilometers/184 miles per hour, and cover a flight range of about 480 nautical miles (889 kilometers/552 miles).
