Pakistan has received 10 Russian-made helicopters at U.S. taxpayer expense, and U.S. counterinsurgency funds have paid for the overhaul of a dozen Pakistani Mi-17s.

Iraq’s military operates a fleet of 18 Mi-17s, with another 22 on order, eight of which were paid for by the U.S. government. The Department of Defense has bought 31 Mi-17s for Afghanistan’s security forces, and the pending defense budget for fiscal 2011, beginning in October, includes a $180 million request for the procurement of 10 additional Mi-17s for Afghanistan.