Mi-171:perhaps the best nuri replacement

As we know,Nuri(or S-61A4.I prefer actual designation because more people will understand) have been around in RMAF since....forever and new replacement has been surfaced since 5,6 years ago at least.Problem is, with all state-of-the-art equipments bought(Su-30MKM,Scorpene SSK,PT-91M,etc),MAF already used their budget and have to wait until additional fund(which means RMK-10,or beyond) is available.A replacement is urgently needed as the old chopper is started to wear apart(aging airframe,over-utilized,even other countries already in the process of phasing them out)

But,while these "other countries" are considering for EH-101 and NH-90 as their main workhorse,Malaysia simply couldn't walk that path(actually we can,but we'll be gasping for money).A requirement of up to 48 helos will be bought and procuring such helos will cut more than limbs.There is other cheaper option that can do similar work almost as good and that is Mi-171.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mil_Mi-17

Mi-171,which is derived from Mi-8,has become a workhorse to many countries worldwide.Cheap,simple,reliable airframe and capable of carrying comparable loads as S-61,Mi-171 is perfectly suited to RMAF need for general transport helicopter.Mi-171 can also be equipped with advanced avionics(FLIR,NVG-capability,GPS,system,radar,glass cockpit) at price way under EH-101.What we need as nuri replacement is a helicopter with new airframe,capable of carrying loads as S-61,with decent pricetag(Mi-171 about USD10 million a piece,EH-101 is about 4 times that price) and can be used(or abused,I might say : D) for up to 25-30 years.It is used as general transport helicopter anyway(for tasks such as sending supply/equipment,carrying troops,emergency relief and medium threat handling) and are more than capable for such works.For CSAR or hot-and-high operation or other dangerous operation,that job can be given to EH-725,which will be acquired in the future.


....And just to give a general idea of how would Mi-171 compared to S-61