Peacekeeping: April 24, 2002

Archives

The Russian helicopter detachment with the UN forces in Sierra Leone (officially known as UNAMSIL's Russian Aviation Unit) earn about $7 million a year for Moscow's budget.

The Russian helicopter detachment, stationed in Sierra Leone since August 2000, is essentially a state-sanctioned mercenary group. The detachment musters 115 pilots and technicians, as well as four MI-24 helicopter gunships and is based on the Lunga airfield (17km north of the Sierra Leonean capital Freetown). 

According to a 23 April press briefing by Major General Sergei Dementyev, deputy commander of the Land Forces army aviation in charge of armament service, that the four Mi-24 gunships and crews were averaging about 200 flight hours per month.

He also quoted the commander of the UN forces in Sierra Leone, Lieutenant General Daniel Opande, as saying that the Russian combat helicopters had made a sufficient contribution to stabilizing the country. 

The detachment will undergo a regularly scheduled rotation of the entire unit personnel roster in the second half of June, which is a very clever way for the Kremlin to share the financial rewards of UN duty amongst it's helicopter aviation branch. Since the beginning of the mission, the number of those volunteering to go to the hotspot exceeded the overall number of slots for the African peacekeeping contingent. 

This keeps aviators and mechanics in uniform, while letting Kofi Annan pay the Russians to keep their Hind crews sharp. - Adam Geibel

 


Article Archive

Peacekeeping: Current 2021 2020 2019 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 


X

ad
0
20

Help Keep Us Soaring

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling. We need your help in reversing that trend. We would like to add 20 new subscribers this month.

Each month we count on your subscriptions or contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage. A contribution is not a donation that you can deduct at tax time, but a form of crowdfunding. We store none of your information when you contribute..
Subscribe   Contribute   Close