Actually come to think of it ive not been in a military helicopter with forward facing seats!

UH-1 Iroquois as well, methinks. Then again, those are helicopters with very well designed doors providing a fair bit of space to move around.
According to Jane's, the Canadians have leased MI-8s from a Toronto(?) based company, the roles will include troop transport but will not include ground attack. They will be flown by civilian pilots (experienced former military). So it seems it is possible to be able to lease such helicopters for troop transport.
My understanding is that under EU rules, in order to hire a chopper to carry people, they have to have front/rear-facing seats. But due to the design of the cabin and door of the Mi-8/17, the most militarily capable layout involves sideways-facing seats. So they must specifically hire a less-capable helicopter for the job.
This is madness.
NTM
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