Russia plans to make 72 Mi-8 helicopters at their Kazan plant over the next two years, more than offsetting their total full-scale invasion losses of 56 units as of March, Dallas Analytics reported, citing leaked Russian documents. It is also double the production rate from earlier estimates.
Russia also has another Mi-8 factory at Ulan-Ude. In 2024, both plants jointly delivered 40 helicopters, according to Moscow’s defense conglomerate Rostec. A December analysis by Frontelligence Insight, also based on leaked documents, estimated that Russia can make 20 Mi-8s at each plant per year.
The number of helicopters the Ulan-Ude plant can produce is unknown. However, if it has similar capacity to the Kazan plant, Russia’s production rate could be substantially higher.
Mi-8s are versatile workhorses, able to transport troops and cargo, conduct reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and attack missions. Due to heavy losses, their role moved away from frontline missions during the battle of Kyiv, towards evacuation, and subsequently indirect fire roles and hunting Ukrainian UAVs and USVs on the Black Sea.
War has changed significantly since before the full-scale invasion, largely due to the invasion. The ubiquity of drones means that Russia could hardly risk attempting large-scale airborne assault operations.
However, if Russia plans to escalate its hybrid war against NATO into more direct aggression, as some Alliance military officials predict, the Mi-8s would come in handy for ground incursions.
The production plan also hints at Russia’s priorities. The leaked document, minutes from a meeting involving Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Gennady Abramenkov, states that the National Wealth Fund would contribute financing, which means that Moscow's reserve cash is being poured into maintaining and rebuilding its war machine.
On the other hand, the documents revealed some potential hiccups in Russia's plan to rebuild the Mi-8 fleet. Many details seem to hang on contractors securing advance payments and contracts that have yet to be signed. The United Engine Corporation is expected to only start delivering engines for the Mi-8s beginning in September.
One clause calls for an estimate of how many helicopters can "actually" be built in 2026, suggesting that there's a gap between expectation and reality.
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