Maintenance center for Ansat helicopters to open in Mexico in 2020

25.04.2019 / Mexico
The Mexican company Craft Avia Center in cooperation with the Russian Helicopters holding company (part of Rostec State Corporation) is planning to open a technical maintenance center for Ansat type civilian helicopters in the city of Guadalajara.

Maintenance center for Ansat helicopters to open in Mexico in 2020

“The creation of a maintenance center for Ansat type helicopters in the Mexican city of Guadalajara is in active stage. The project is being implemented by Craft Avia Center in close cooperation with Russian Helicopters. The center will start its operation in 2020", said the Deputy Director General for Aftersales Services of Russian Helicopters, Igor Chechikov.

Representatives of the holding held corresponding negotiations with their Mexican partners during the third international aerospace show FAMEX 2019, held in the Santa Lucia air base close to Mexico’s capital. With the support of Russian Helicopters, the center will be equipped with the required documentation and technology. Training of Mexican technical service engineers is also planned. The first Ansat helicopter will be delivered to Mexico for Craft Avia Center in 2019.

“We have long and successful relations of cooperation in the field of helicopter construction with our Mexican partners. Around 50 Russian-made Mi-17 type helicopters are successfully operated here. Rostec is focused on both strengthening our cooperation with Mexico and developing long-term relations with the whole region of Latin America. Creating the maintenance center for Russian Ansat helicopter is a significant step forwards in this path”, pointed out Viktor Kladov, Director for International Cooperation and Regional Policy of Rostec. He added: “I’m confident that the maintenance center will both strengthen and expand our cooperation in the field of aviation, as well as make the light Ansat helicopter more attractive to potential customers in both Mexico and Latin America in general”.

During 2014-2015, Russian Helicopters conducted successful overhauls of 19 helicopters operated by the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense. Currently the company is providing comprehensive after-sales support maintaining the whole fleet of Mi-17 helicopters operated in the territory of Mexico.

The light multi-purpose helicopter Ansat, which has the largest cabin within its class, is actively used by the Russian air medical services. This twin-engine helicopter has compact size and does not require a large landing area. It can also be used for normal passenger and VIP transport, cargo delivery and environmental monitoring. Ansat has been successfully tested for high-altitude operations, confirming that it can be used in mountainous areas with altitudes up to 3,500 meters.

The multi-purpose helicopter Mi-17-1V is one of the modifications of the Mi-17 type, designed by the Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant, a subsidiary of the Russian Helicopters holding company. Good performance characteristics, ease of operation and reliability have made these helicopters popular throughout the world. Mi-17-1V has a top speed of 250 km/h and maximum flight range of over 600 kilometers. It can carry up to 37 paratroopers. The civilian variant is widely used for cargo and passenger transport, firefighting and rescue operations.

The international aerospace show FAMEX takes place in Mexico once every two years. Russian Helicopters is a regular participant of the exhibition.

JSC Russian Helicopters (part of Rostec State Corporation) is one of the world leaders in helicopter industry, the only developer and manufacturer of helicopters in Russia. The holding company was established in 2007. The head office is located in Moscow. The holding company is comprised of five helicopter plants, two design bureaus, enterprises for production and maintenance of components, aircraft repair plants and a service company providing after-sales support in Russia and abroad. The buyers of the holding company's products include the Ministry of Defense of Russia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, EMERCOM of Russia, and other state customers, Gazprom Avia and UTair airlines, as well as major Russian and foreign companies.


Rostec is a Russian State Corporation established in 2007 to promote the development, production and export of high-tech industrial products designed for civil and military applications. The Corporation comprises over 700 organizations that are currently part of eleven holding companies operating in the military-industrial complex and three holding companies working in civilian industry, as well as over 80 directly managed organizations. Rostec's portfolio includes well-known brands such as AVTOVAZ, KAMAZ, Kalashnikov Concern, Russian Helicopters, VSMPO AVISMA, UralVagonZavod, etc. Rostec companies are located in 60 constituent entities of the Russian Federation and supply products to more than 100 countries. The consolidated revenue of Rostec in 2017 amounted to RUB 1 trillion 589 billion rubles, while the consolidated net income and EBITDA amounted to 121 and 305 billion rubles, correspondingly. In 2017 the average salary in the Corporation was 46.8 thousand rubles. According to Rostec's strategy, the main objective of the Corporation is to ensure that Russia has a technological advantage in highly competitive global markets. Rostec's key objectives include the introduction of a new techno-economic paradigm and digitalization of Russian economy.