Russia–India Helicopter Cooperation Documents Reveal Request Involving Slovak State Firm LOTN

Ukrainian cyber activists from Inform Napalm and Militant Intelligence have released documents that reportedly reveal correspondence between Russian defense entities and the Slovak state company Letecké Opravovne Trenčín (LOTN).

Inform Napalm reported this on their Telegram channel.

According to documents uncovered during the multi-level operation OpsHackRussia’sDay (OHRD), the cyber activists obtained a letter from the Russian company JSC National Helicopter Center (a structural unit of the Russian Helicopters holding) addressed to the deputy general director, discussing a request from Sunil Kumar, Indian military attaché in Moscow, regarding the Slovak company LOTN.

The letter indicates that representatives of India, through their military mission, reached out to Russia with inquiries about LOTN, presumably in the context of servicing Soviet/Russian helicopters in use by the Indian Army.

India is actively engaging with Russians regarding LOTN – a state-owned company fully owned by the Slovak Ministry of Defense, certified under EASA Part-145 and NATO AQAP standards.

Amid this, internal Russian correspondence concerning the Slovak company raises concerns about the security and integrity of transatlantic cooperation. Given LOTN’s strategic importance to NATO partners, any form of collaboration, even indirect, with Russia could pose a risk of sensitive information or technology leaks.

Activists have noted that, following previous revelations about possible links between LOTN and Russian entities, journalistic and parliamentary initiatives are already emerging in Slovakia to investigate the circumstances of such cooperation. Contacts with the aggressor country may lead to reputational, political, and even sanction-related consequences.

In April 2025, the Slovak company signed a strategic agreement with the Norwegian firm Kongsberg Aviation Maintenance Services to establish an F-16 aircraft maintenance center in Trenčín, regarded as a key component of NATO’s defense infrastructure.

Martin Martis, Editor-in-Chief of the Slovak media Future Army, told Militarnyi that LOTN has been repairing and maintaining Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopters for the Slovak Republic’s Armed Forces for a long time.

“In 2020, LOTN signed an agreement with the Russian company JSC Russian Helicopters to cooperate in the overhaul of Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopters. From the published documents, it appears that LOTN offered India services for repairing Indian Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopters.”

In response, the Indian military attaché contacted the Russian Helicopters holding company with a request for recommendations regarding LOTN. At the same time, the leaked documents do not indicate that LOTN is currently conducting any business with Russia or circumventing sanctions.

Militarnyi previously reported that Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport announced plans to open a helicopter maintenance and repair center in Peru.