Kazan Helicopters began developing the Mi-38 in the early 1980s. A mockup was first shown during the 1989
Paris Air Show. After the
dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kazan Helicopters began collaborating with
Eurocopter to adapt the Mi-38 for the international market. In September 1994, Euromil JSC was established and funding of the programme began a month later. Sextant and
Pratt & Whitney Canada were also to participate in the programme as suppliers of Mi-38's avionics and powerplant equipment. Initially, the helicopter was to be first flight tested in 1999, but only on 18 August 1999 a contract was signed for completion of the first demonstrator. In 2001, testing of Mi-38's rotor blades was carried out on a Mi-17 helicopter. The first Mi-38 demonstrator (PT-1) performed its maiden flight above the Kazan Helicopters plant on 22 December 2003. The second prototype (OP-2), powered by
Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127/TS engines, made its first flight on 2 December 2010. The prototype is also equipped with the IBKO-38 or IBKV-38 aviation complex, developed by
Transas Aviation, which implements a concept of a glass cockpit for the Mi-38. In March 2013, the
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale has confirmed the Mi-38 prototypes have already set five records in the E1h class. The second prototype aircraft set an altitude record by reaching without a payload. The second and third records were for climbing speed; the Mi-38 reached a height of in six minutes, then followed this to reach in 10 minutes and 52 seconds. Two further records were altitude records: the first was set at with a payload, the second at with a payload. The third prototype (OP-3), began its flight tests on 17 December 2013. The helicopter is equipped with a pair of Russian
Klimov TV7-117V turboshaft engines, which produce about as opposed to for the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127/TS. On 30 December 2015,
Rosaviatsiya certified the Mi-38, completing the testing and certification program and allowing for the delivery of the first production model. Certification was based on the third and fourth flight-test prototypes with Klimov TV7-117V engines. In July 2017, a contract for delivery of first two serial Mi-38s to the
Russian Defence Ministry was signed. On 23 November 2018, military variant,
Mi-38T, performed its maiden flight. The new variant was developed to meet the Russian MoD's new requirements for the helicopter and due to international sanctions imposed on Russia, all of its components, including engines and avionics, are Russian-made. Deputy Managing Director at Kazan Helicopters Vadim Ligai stated that the Mi-38 can now carry up to 40 passengers. The Russian Defence Ministry took delivery of the first two serial Mi-38s in December 2019. In January 2020, Russian Helicopters announced that it had received orders from an unspecified export customer (reported by Russian media sources to be in the Middle East) for Mi-38Ts in "transport and increased comfort cabin configurations", with delivery from 2021 to 2022. The RF Defense Ministry ordered 2 more Mi-38s in increased comfort cabin configuration in August 2020 and the Ministry of Emergency Situations ordered 9 in August 2021. In 2023, the
Government of Zimbabwe was gifted an Mi-38 helicopter by
Russian President Vladimir Putin from
Gazprombank Leasing, during the
Second Russia-Africa Summit hosted in
Saint Petersburg. This follows the delivery of a number of
Kazan Ansat helicopters for the
Zimbabwe Republic Police, as well as a new
air ambulance service for the country. However, as of 2025 the helicopter had its Russian registration restored and was returned to
Russian Helicopters. In March 2024,
Kolyma Aviation received two Mi-38 helicopters for operating commercial flights connecting
Magadan Oblast. The aircraft were liveried in a distinctive orca pattern. ==Variants==