Update: Images show PLAGF Mi-171 helo equipped with possible ECM pods

Chinese state-owned media have released images showing for the first time a People’s Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) Mi-171-series multirole medium helicopter equipped with what appear to be electronic countermeasure (ECM) pods under its stub wings.

The PLA-sponsored China Military Online website released the images on 19 November, stating that they were taken during a “penetration flight training exercise” carried out eight days earlier that included other rotorcraft, including Z-10 attack helicopters.

While the location of the manoeuvres was not disclosed, the site revealed that the Mi-171 is assigned to an Army Aviation brigade under the PLA’s 73rd Group Army. The images show the Mi-171 hovering above the sea alongside a similar platform without stub wings.

The latest developments come after China Military Online reported on 18 November that an army aviation brigade under the PLA’s 71st Group Army recently used an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to help a helicopter conduct a beyond-visual-range (BVR) strike against a target at sea during a live-fire drill, adding that all intended targets were engaged, despite “the harsh conditions of dense fog”.