Originally designed by the Soviet Union, the Mil Mi-8 made its debut in 1961 before going into serial production in 1967. More than 17,000 of them have been produced, and they remain in production to date.

The Estonian Border Guard's Mi-8T twin-turbine helicopter has seen action both in K-Commando special operations and helping combat countless wildfires.

"The chopper has been in the good hands of the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences since 2006, when it made its last flight and landed on the grounds of the former border guard school in Muraste," said Kristian Jaani, director of the present-day academy's Police and Border Guard College.

"It is a piece of Border Guard Flight Squadron history," he added. "At the museum, people will be able to come see it and climb inside."

"I was very excited," admitted Margus Lihulinn, an aircraft and engine mechanic for the Police and Border Guard (PPA) Aviation Group. Lihulinn was the one tasked with taking the iconic helicopter apart to make it easier to transport.

"What makes this machine phenomenal is its simplicity and reliability," he explained. "It's also a very spacious chopper."

The Border Guard helicopter has been used to fight wildfires as well as transport people. Special forces have flown it as well.

"The K-Commando has carried out numerous special operations with it," Jaani highlighted, citing more famous names including convicted serial killer Yuri Ustimenko and the Brothers Voitka, who were captured in 2000, 14 years after fleeing Soviet recruitment and going into hiding as modern-day Forest Brothers.

"The transport of the helicopter is a special operation in itself, because it's an oversized load that requires all kinds of approvals and permits," noted Karel Kurvits, logistics specialist at the academy. "The chopper itself weighs nearly eight [metric] tons."

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