Rare Russian-Made, U.S.-Operated Mi-17 Helicopter Spotted in South Carolina

A number of Mi-17 helicopters are believed to be operated by the U.S. Army’s secretive Aviation Technology Office, which also provides aviation support to special operations forces during covert missions.

When you’re going about your day in the United States, the last thing you expect to see is a Russian helicopter landing at your local airport. One could wonder how this would happen, but the answer is simple: the Russian-made helicopter is operated by the U.S. military. Let’s see what we know.

On Oct. 2, 2024, photos of a mysterious Mi-17 started circulating online, with some accounts stating that the helicopter was taking part in the hurricane relief effort in North Carolina. These claims, however, proved to be wrong. In fact, we talked to photographer Chris Jackson, who captured the photos and kindly allowed us to share them, to know the story about this rare sighting.

🚨Aviation Unicorn Alert🚨

Earlier today I might have heard through the grapevine that this ultra rare Soviet designed Russian MI-17 was coming by @iFlyCAE so I grabbed the camera with only about 2 minutes to spare and went out to sure enough catch it on arrival.

This… pic.twitter.com/H3Ieap6RrK

— ☈ Chris Jackson ☈ (@ChrisJacksonSC) October 2, 2024

The unmarked helicopter arrived at Columbia Metropolitan Airport, South Carolina, for a quick fuel stop during a trip from an unknown location which was reportedly taking the Mi-17 to Florida. Jackson told us that the helicopter came in dark, without transmitting any ADSB/MLAT/TIS-B data.

The Mi-17 was using the callsign “Helicopter 2133,” reflecting its registration on the tail boom 20-2133. The helicopter could also be listened speaking to air traffic control via the website LiveATC at it approached Columbia and prepared to land. According to Jackson, the Mi-17 came into Runway 23 at Cola Metro and then sidestepped over to taxiway Delta before taxiing a couple hundred feet into the Columbia Aviation FBO.

The FBO has a government contract to provide fuel services to military aviation, with National Guard’s UH-60s and AH-64s often seen stopping by the airport. The Mi-17 performed a quick turnaround and refueling, before departing immediately thereafter to the southwest.

An aviation unicorn

As mentioned by Jackson when he shared the photos, the Mi-17 in U.S. service is a bit of a unicorn for aviation enthusiasts. The type has already made the news more than one time as it is sometimes spotted while operating in the U.S. without identification markings.

The latest time was just a couple of months ago, in mid-August 2024, when a Mi-171E1 (export variant of the Mi-17) landed in a North Carolina county and unloaded troops with backpacks who vanished into nearby woods, according to various reports. The troops departed the following morning on the same helicopter, spurring reports on social media about “terrorists” operating in the area.

A mysterious Soviet-era transport helicopter unexpectedly landed in a field in Eldorado, North Carolina. Several men with backpacks disembarked and headed into the nearby woods, leaving the Mi-171E1 (20-2131) behind overnight. H/t @jcameronmcso. https://t.co/BxLZcU6hYb pic.twitter.com/o90MgK2Lna

— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) August 13, 2024

Residents and officials said the situation was “blown out of the water,” as the troops were military personnel involved in an exercise coordinated by the U.S. Army. The service, in fact, tried to get in contact with the owner of the field where the helicopter landed to ask for permission, however, due to a change of property, the Army ended up contacting the owner of the store located on field instead of the owner of the field.

“The U.S. Army conducted a training exercise in the Eldorado Community of Montgomery County earlier this week using a non-US military helicopter,” Montgomery County Sheriff Pete Herron said to CBS 17 News. “The Army acknowledged an unintentional lack of communication on their end.”

As we mentioned, the helicopter is completely unmarked, painted entirely gray with only the serial number visible on the tail boom. In addition to the particle separator for the engine’s air inlets, used also by other foreign operators, this Mi-171E1 can be seen with some uncommon additions.

The helicopter, in fact, is equipped with an unknown radar on the nose, an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) turret below the nose (possible identified as a SAFIRE 380X sensor) and a plethora of antennas on the tail boom, including one possibly used for SATCOMs.

The helicopter spotted in August had the same identical configuration, with the only exception being the serial number, 20-2131 in that case. Another Mi-171 in the same configuration, but different livery, was spotted in 2021, when it made an emergency landing in North Carolina. So far, five different helicopters have been spotted, but according to some sources there could be a total of around 30 Mi-17s being operated in the United States.

The Aviation Technology Office

A number of Mi-17 helicopters are widely known to be operated by the CIA, although some are operated by other branches of the U.S. military. The one considered the most likely operator of the helicopter in the photos is the U.S. Army, and specifically its Aviation Technology Office (ATO) based at Felker Army Airfield, Virginia. Freely available satellite image shows Mi-17s on Felker’s ramp.

The ATO, previously known as Flight Concepts Division (FCD), is considered one of the most secretive military aviation units. One of its roles is to provide discreet aviation support for special operations forces during covert missions. The choice of the Mi-17 for this role is obvious, as it is, together with the initial Mi-8 from which it’s derived, the world’s most-produced helicopter with more than 17,000 units built since 1961.

Another role of the unit is the development of new technologies for Army Aviation, and is in fact officially part of the U.S. Army Aviation Flight Test Directorate. The unit is considered to be the lead of the development of the stealth variant of the Black Hawk helicopter which was used in the raid that led to the death of Osama Bin Laden.

The Mi-17

The Russian-built Mil Mi-17 helicopter, NATO reporting name “Hip”, is a medium capacity, utility helicopter made in numerous versions including armed gunships and tactical transports. The aircraft has a significant operational history with over 75 countries including emerging nations, many African countries and even the United States and, for some time, Canada.

The helicopter has proven to be a rugged, dependable and simple to operate aircraft well suited to austere environments and operations in forward areas. The Mi-17 can carry up to 30 people or 9,000 lbs of cargo in hot weather and high altitudes up to 20,000 ft.

Thanks to Chris Jackson for the photos he sent us and the help he provided in the preparation of this article. Make sure to follow him on X for more!