The commander of the Ecuadorian Army, General Gustavo Acosta, has stated the force’s intention to recover operationally part of its fleet of Mil Mi-171 helicopters, which the Aviation Brigade deploys.
The statements -given to Ecuavisa- come within the framework of the recent modernization process of this force, thanks to the acquisition of new armored vehicles, rifles, and UAVs and the updating of its rotary wing fleet.
In this sense, General Acosta revealed that “the recovery has a value, but another value is the maintenance of these helicopters as it happens in all air fleets”.
NORTHERN BORDER
The intention is to be able to recover several of the aircraft that are deployed at Fort Las Balbinas to support from the tactical and logistical point of view the operations of specialized army units on the northern border and in the development of surveillance and control missions directed against Colombian organized armed groups that commit crimes in the area.
For 2020, Ecuador carried out major overhaul work on three Mi-171s, carried out at the time by the Army Aviation Maintenance Center (Cemae).
Ecuador has operated -at different times and for 22 years- a total of 11 Mi-171 and 17-1V in missions throughout the country.
With information from InfoDefensa