AKIPRESS.COM - Kazakhstan this year will receive from Russia four helicopter gunships Mi-35M, Deputy Defense Minister Okas Saparov told the media at the KADEX 2016 exhibition.

Saparov said that Russia-Kazakhstan relations in the military-technical sphere were getting better with every passing year.

"There are no insoluble problems. We have long-term interest in the Sukhoi-35 plane. And we’ve already mentioned Mi-24," he said, adding that nearly 80% of Kazakhstan’s military hardware was of Russian manufacture.

On Wednesday, the Deputy CEO of the Helicopters of Russia holding company, Aleksandr Shcherbinin, unveiled plans for starting the supply of these helicopters to Astana at the end of 2016.

The Mi-35M’s functions include strikes against armored vehicles, fire support for ground troops, delivery of airborne assault groups and cargoes and evacuation of injured personnel.