At an accelerated pace: the Russian Federation and Colombia have not agreed on the repair of the Mi-17

Moscow and Bogota cannot come to a common decision on the issue of repair and maintenance of Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters, Izvestia found out. The Russian Federation is in regular contact with the Ministry of Defense of the Latin American state, but Colombia does not accept some of the proposals due to the threat of secondary sanctions. Currently, the republic has 20 helicopters, but only five of them are usable, while Russian equipment is regularly needed by the country — it was needed, for example, during the recent conflict in northern Colombia.

Why is the issue of Mi-17 maintenance in Colombia at a dead end

Russia and Colombia have not yet been able to find a solution on how to service the Russian Mi-17 helicopters owned by Bogota.

— As part of bilateral military-technical cooperation, Colombia has in the past purchased several Mi-17 helicopters from Russia for transporting military personnel. Helicopters have proven themselves well in the geographical and climatic conditions of the country. Due to logistical and financial difficulties caused by the geopolitical situation, the maintenance and repair of these aircraft, important for the Colombian defense sector, proved impossible, so some of them are on the ground. The authorities and military departments are in contact with each other in search of a solution," Colombian Ambassador to Russia Hector Arenas Neira told Izvestia.

Colombia purchased the Russian-made Mi-17 between 1996 and 2009. Currently, the armed forces of the Latin American state have 20 helicopters at their disposal, and only five of them are usable, three are in the process of maintenance, and 12 more are standing. Such data was provided by the Ministry of Defense of the country in 2024.

— The Embassy is in contact with the Ministry of National Defense of Colombia regarding the resumption of maintenance of the fleet of Mi-17 helicopters of the ground forces of the armed forces of the host country. The Colombian Defense Ministry was informed of the readiness of our relevant structures for a substantive dialogue on this topic. At the moment, the Russian side is awaiting a response from its Colombian partners, the Russian Embassy in Bogota told Izvestia.

Difficulties with helicopter repairs began in 2023. Colombia attributes the inability to receive proper service to Russia's disconnection from the SWIFT system and sanctions against the National Aviation Service Company (NASC).

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NASC was included in the so—called Clinton list (Specially Designated Narcotic Traffickers), one of the lists of the US Treasury. Thus, cooperation with the company may threaten other states with secondary sanctions — in this case, Colombia may fall under them.

Russia, in turn, offered the option of repairing helicopters in the country, but the authorities of the Latin American state did not support this idea.

In April 2024, one of the Mi-17s crashed in the Bolivar department, killing nine people on board. Before that, another helicopter of Russian origin crashed in the department of Antioquia — then there were no casualties.

In 2023, the Joe Biden administration offered Colombia to give the helicopters to Kiev in exchange for new American-made equipment, but President Gustavo Petro declined the offer, saying he preferred the sides to be "scrap metal" in Colombia rather than fighting in Ukraine.

Earlier, Stanislav Kudryavtsev, a representative of Rostec Corporation in Colombia, explained to Izvestia that, in accordance with the domestic legislation of the Latin American republic, Russian helicopters cannot be sold or donated to third countries.

What is Colombia using Russian helicopters for?

Progress in the repair of the Mi-17 occurred at the end of last year, when the Colombian authorities managed to conclude an agreement with the American company Vertol Systems with a total value of more than $30 million. However, the repair process may take several years, given that the first three helicopters will be ready for operation again only after six months.

Despite the difficulties with maintenance, Colombia is interested in continuing to use Russian helicopters, as their technical capabilities allow them to operate in difficult climatic conditions and reach hard-to-reach areas.

This need became particularly acute at the end of January this year, when a confrontation began in the Colombian region of Catatumbo between rebels from the National Liberation Army and breakaway structures from the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Moreover, helicopters were needed not only to deliver the military to the conflict zone, but also to evacuate civilians to safe areas. Due to the lack of the required amount of equipment, the Colombian Armed Forces had to lease helicopters from private companies.

According to some reports, as a result of the conflict, approximately 60,000 people were forced to leave their homes, and about a hundred died.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that in 2025, the United States, against the background of a policy to reduce support from third countries, banned the Colombian police from using 22 Black Hawk helicopters, which the States independently provided to Latin American law enforcement agencies as a support measure. It is possible that the diplomatic relations between the United States and Colombia, which had been strained at that time due to the deportation of migrants from American territory, could also play a role in Washington's decision. At the same time, Bogota still has 12 American helicopters of this model, which it has purchased and maintains at its own expense.

In early April, the Latin American press reported that the Colombian National Army was preparing an official request to the Government of the Republic for the purchase of new aircraft to cope with the current crisis. So far, the authorities have not received the final text of the letter.

As Viktor Kheifets, professor of the Faculty of International Relations at St. Petersburg State University, noted, initially, Russian helicopters were not "the subject of dreams" of Colombia. The country's authorities purchased the first boards before the meeting of the then President of the republic Ernesto Samper with Boris Yeltsin. The meeting never took place, but the helicopters remained.

One of the reasons Colombia is interested in finding a way to fix the helicopters instead of buying new ones is that the authorities of the Latin American republic are not ready for large—scale purchases right now. Russia, on the other hand, is not opposed to maintaining cooperation with Bogota, since in the current conditions it is a chance to continue implementing military-technical projects with a country that is a global partner of NATO in the region.