The government of Equatorial Guinea has taken delivery of two Mi-172 rotorcraft constructed by Russian Helicopters' manufacturing plant, Kazan Helicopters. One of the helicopters produced under the contract has been delivered in 'Salon VIP' configuration and is designed to transport up to 12 passengers. The second Mi-172 arrived in passenger configuration and can accommodate up to 26.

“Equatorial Guinea is a long-time partner of ours," states Russian Helicopters CEO Andrey Boginsky. "In 2006, we also delivered two Mi-172 helicopters in Salon VIP and passenger versions to the country. Russian helicopters are popular in Africa due to their reliability, ease of operation and good price to quality ratio. I am sure that this contract will not be the last one."

The Mi-172 is a single rotor helicopter with an anti-torque rotor and a twin-engine power unit. In addition to the passenger and VIP configurations, there are also transport, medical and evacuation, SAR, military and firefighting versions of the type. The aircraft has, the OEM says, a large power reserve, good performance at high altitude, a spacious cockpit, a range of avionics options and autonomous preparation for flights and maintenance. It can fly in temperatures from minus 50 to plus 50 degrees celsius.

There are currently 400 Mi-8/17 helicopters operating across Africa.