Russian Helicopters, the National Service of Medical Aviation and Avia Capital Services LLC have signed a contract to supply 104 Ansat and 46 Mi-8AMT medically-equipped helicopters and after-sales services to Russia's National Service of Medical Aviation (NSMA).

The agreement forms part of a large-scale project by Rostec State Corporation, the parent company of the three companies, to create a single operator of air ambulance services in the regions of the Russian Federation.

"The development of EMS aviation is one of the priorities of the national health project," says Sergey Chemezov, CEO of Rostec State Corporation. "Rostec is implementing a comprehensive project in this area by establishing a special air ambulance service, providing it with aircraft and building the necessary ground infrastructure. One hundred and fifty helicopters will be manufactured and delivered specifically for NSMA - a record number of helicopters made for EMS aviation. Investments in the project exceed 40 billion rubles. The range of measures that we will implement will allow the new service to effectively carry out life-saving missions."

The project is financed by Avia Capital Services LLC, which will purchase the helicopters and lease them to the NSMA for 15 years. NSMA is already transporting patients in need of emergency care in Saint Petersburg, the Moscow, Leningrad, Sverdlovsk and Novgorod regions and Karelia.

The first Mi-8AMT EMS helicopter has been officially handed over to NSMA and is fitted with onboard medical equipment, including an artificial lung ventilation system and a tele-ECG machine that reads an electrocardiogram in real-time.