Baltic States Planning to Purchase Helicopters

The three Baltic states  — Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — are planning to purchase helicopters, radar systems and armored personnel carriers in the near future. Some of the projects are at the advanced stage, said the Latvian defense minister. The defense minister also said the purchase of four light helicopters for the Latvian air force by 2010 would be used to train new pilots and perform search and rescue missions. The Latvian air force currently operates one Mi-2 and four Kazan Mi-17s. For related news