Controversy Over the Maintenance of Russian Mi-17 in Colombia

The Colombian Military is once again facing problems with equipment maintenance after the Ministry of Defense (MoD) failed to reach an agreement with its Russian counterpart on the upkeep of Mi-17 helicopters. While Colombian authorities claim that this situation is the result of the Russo-Ukrainian War, the Russian embassy for its part argues that it is rather due to the Colombian MoD’s lack of attention to the matter.

Colombia Military Forces currently operate over 20 Soviet-made Mi-17 type helicopters, out of which only nine are operational. Indeed, most of the fleet has reached its time flight limit of around 2,000 hours, which makes maintenance mandatory for future use of the aircraft.

The Mi-17 controversy

Following a declaration from Javier Enrique Rey Navas, former Colombian Air Force commander, stating that the maintenance failure is due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Russian embassy to Colombia issued a statement contradicting this explanation.

In the document published on the social media platform X, the Russian embassy claims that the Colombian MoD suspended maintenance contracts back in March 2022 due to concerns regarding the safety of the Mi-17. After the resumption of negotiations, the Colombian MoD once again unilaterally suspended the contracts in February 2023.

In the letter, the Russian embassy further argues that the Russian company NASC, charged with the maintenance of the helicopters, even proposed repairing the fleet on Colombian soil and contracting Colombian companies. However, the Colombian government did not show interest in solving the problem and did not inform its Russian counterparts of its intentions regarding the future of the helicopters.

Colombia, the Mi-17, and geopolitics

Mi-17 maintenance is an urgent matter. According to Ivan Velasquez, the Colombian minister of Defense, ten Mi-17 are currently grounded at Tolemaida Airbase, Cundinamarca Department. Although these aircraft have only reached 60 percent of their lifetime, they need to be repaired as soon as possible; otherwise, they will become inoperable by 2027.

However, there are several challenges facing the maintenance operations. The first is their elevated financial cost, estimated at around US$100 million (390.3 billion COP) per helicopter. Secondly, there are geopolitical considerations. Indeed, due to the diplomatic conflict between the US and Russia, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, the US is very attentive to their allies’ relations with Russia, particularly regarding the defense sector.

In this context, Julian Rincon, commander of the Army Aviation Brigade No. 32, claims that the struggle between the Colombian Defense Ministry and Russia is due to US pressures which prevent Colombia from contracting Russian companies. Indeed, Colombia is a US Major Non-NATO Ally, and an important client of the US defense industry, which makes it vulnerable to US pressure.

This is not the first time the Colombian Military has suffered from geopolitical discord. Recently, President Gustavo Petro’s stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict led to the suspension of arms purchases from the Hebrew Nation, putting at risk the maintenance of Kfir jet fighters, a key component of the Colombian Air Force.