Georgia Hires New Fire-Fighting Helicopter

Georgia has hired a new helicopter to help with fire-fighting.

The third most common operational military aircraft in the world is known as the multifunctional helicopter Mi-8, a Soviet Union designed and Russian produced helicopter that is mostly used for transport, it can also be used as an airborne command post, a heavily armed gunship or, in this case, a fire-fighting helicopter.

The helicopter and its pilot came into service from Belarus on 25 July and will be stationed in Tbilisi until the end of September. The Georgian government has allocated $363,000 for this service, which also includes the salary for the foreign pilot.

“If needed, we can prolong the contract of the helicopter and pilot; it is a very flexible agreement due to the nature of the emergencies it will be used for, such as firefighting and emergency civilian rescue,” stated the Georgian Emergency Management Service.

By Shawn Wayne