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Afghanistan Air Force - Updates and Discussions.
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black-hawk_101
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They should have at least these used but upgraded equipment:
Mi-17: 150
Uh-1/Bell-412: 150
Mi-35: 100
UAV/UCAV: 70
C-130: 30
C-27: 30
Beech special mission: 30
Basic trainers: 30
Mi-17: 150
Uh-1/Bell-412: 150
Mi-35: 100
UAV/UCAV: 70
C-130: 30
C-27: 30
Beech special mission: 30
Basic trainers: 30
http://www.janes.com/article/64478/afghanistan-to-get-a-further-four-super-tucanos
The Afghan Air Force (AAF) is to receive four more Embraer-Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft to add to the 20 already under contract, the US Air Force (USAF) disclosed on 7 October.
The Afghan Air Force (AAF) is to receive four more Embraer-Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft to add to the 20 already under contract, the US Air Force (USAF) disclosed on 7 October.
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Thu Oct 20, 2016 | 10:05pm EDT
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-air-force-idUSKCN12L05Q
By Josh Smith | LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan
NATO forces have begun a new program to train Afghan soldiers to pinpoint ground targets for aircraft flying overhead, hoping that it will help stem militant advances in recent months and reverse a sharp rise in civilian casualties.
The alliance has shifted most military responsibility on to Afghanistan's armed forces since it ended its main combat mission after 2014, including building up air capabilities that are crucial to holding back Taliban gains.
A growing number of mainly small Afghan aircraft have been firing increasingly powerful weapons at militants with little or no guidance from the ground, a problem that U.S. advisers like Lieutenant Colonel Andy Janssen are trying to address.
"When you're in the air, the picture of what's going on is vastly different than when you're on the ground," he told Reuters during a recent training exercise in Logar province, just south of the capital Kabul.
"The ability to talk a pilot's eyes to the target effectively is huge. The effectiveness of the strikes goes up exponentially when you do that."
About 60 students are currently at various levels in the program, with officials hoping to field nearly 100 so-called Afghan Tactical Air Controllers (ATACs) by March next year, in time for an expected seasonal upswing in Afghan Taliban fighting after mountain snows melt.
While air "spotters" are no guarantee that the right target will be hit, greater accuracy from air strikes is crucial on two fronts.
Afghan ground forces have struggled to contain a stubborn insurgency that is fighting to topple the Western-backed government and drive out foreign troops, and their reliance on effective air support is increasing.
And civilian casualties from air strikes have spiked this year, with 133 Afghans killed and 159 wounded in the first nine months of 2016, 72 percent up from the same year-ago period.
While no separate data were available for attacks carried out by Afghan, U.S. or NATO aircraft, the United Nations said two-thirds of this year's civilian casualties were caused by the local air force.
The UN also said Afghanistan had 41 aircraft capable of conducting air strikes by June, up from 28 at the end of last year.
PRACTICAL TRAINING
At a military range in Logar, students and pilots practise coordinating air strikes as warplanes and helicopters blast old cars set as targets on the ground.
The trainees used compasses, laser range finders, GPS devices and what Janssen called "very complicated" radios.
Afghan air force A-29 attack planes roared past as ATACs perched on a dusty hill consulted pages full of calculations and spoke by radio to the pilots overhead.
Nearby, U.S. advisers monitored the conversation, double checking the process and interjecting with advice, corrections, or encouragement.
Once clearance was given, a plume of smoke appeared under the aircraft's wing followed by a blast of dust as rockets hit the training range.
Unlike American soldiers, who may undergo years of specialized certifications to direct air strikes, Afghans in the program will be deployed after five to six weeks of training, although instructors say they will receive more advanced training later.
SLOW START
Like the Afghan air force more broadly, which only began to expand rapidly in the last two years, the ATAC program has had a slow start.
In an initial program, soldiers were pulled from existing army units for training as ATACs, said Colonel Troy Henderson, commander of the U.S. Air Force's expeditionary advisory group in Kabul.
When they returned, however, many went back to other army jobs, rather than working to coordinate air cover.
"They didn't have positions set aside, so the newly trained ATACs were out guarding gates," Henderson said. "We didn't foresee that problem when we started off."
Under the new program, initiated in March, ATACs have been assigned directly to the air force, allowing them to focus on their specialized role, he added.
Janssen said the reforms were already paying off, with deployed ATACs playing a more effective role in air operations.
During a recent operation in northern Afghanistan, an Afghan aircraft was 30 seconds from launching an air strike when an ATAC called it off because two goat herders had walked into the area.
"If the ATAC hadn't been there, then there could have possibly been a couple civilians hurt from the strike," Janssen said.
As the Taliban insurgency has spread, and Afghans have less access to back-up from U.S. planes and helicopters, civilian casualties caused by the Afghan air force have surpassed those attributed to international air strikes for the first time.
Other incidents this year have claimed the lives of Afghan soldiers and police caught in so-called "friendly fire" air strikes.
The ATAC trainees see their role as key to preventing more deaths in errant air assaults.
"We can take our coordinates and the enemy coordinates to prevent civilian casualties and hitting the wrong target," said Lieutenant Mohammad Akram, one of the trainees, after he practiced guiding in a bomb.
"This is our duty, to save people's lives."
(Writing by Josh Smith; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
An Afghan Tactical Air Controller practices directing an air strike during an exercise at a range outside Kabul, Afghanistan, October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Josh Smith
An American military adviser consults with an Afghan Tactical Air Controller during an exercise at a range outside Kabul, Afghanistan, October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Josh Smith
A group of Afghan Tactical Air Controller students make calculations for calling in air strikes during an exercise at a range outside Kabul, Afghanistan, October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Josh Smith
Dust rises from the site of a rocket strike at a range where Afghan troops practiced coordinating air strikes during an exercise outside Kabul, Afghanistan, October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Josh Smith
An Afghan Air Force A-29 attack aircraft flies during an exercise at a bombing range outside Kabul, Afghanistan, October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Josh Smith
An Afghan Tactical Air Controller practices directing an air strike during an exercise at a range outside Kabul, Afghanistan, October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Josh Smith
An Afghan Air Force A-29 attack aircraft fires a rocket during an exercise at a bombing range outside Kabul, Afghanistan October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Josh Smith
A group of Afghan Tactical Air Controller students make calculations for calling in air strikes during an exercise at a range outside Kabul, Afghanistan, October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Josh Smith
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-air-force-idUSKCN12L05Q
By Josh Smith | LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan
NATO forces have begun a new program to train Afghan soldiers to pinpoint ground targets for aircraft flying overhead, hoping that it will help stem militant advances in recent months and reverse a sharp rise in civilian casualties.
The alliance has shifted most military responsibility on to Afghanistan's armed forces since it ended its main combat mission after 2014, including building up air capabilities that are crucial to holding back Taliban gains.
A growing number of mainly small Afghan aircraft have been firing increasingly powerful weapons at militants with little or no guidance from the ground, a problem that U.S. advisers like Lieutenant Colonel Andy Janssen are trying to address.
"When you're in the air, the picture of what's going on is vastly different than when you're on the ground," he told Reuters during a recent training exercise in Logar province, just south of the capital Kabul.
"The ability to talk a pilot's eyes to the target effectively is huge. The effectiveness of the strikes goes up exponentially when you do that."
About 60 students are currently at various levels in the program, with officials hoping to field nearly 100 so-called Afghan Tactical Air Controllers (ATACs) by March next year, in time for an expected seasonal upswing in Afghan Taliban fighting after mountain snows melt.
While air "spotters" are no guarantee that the right target will be hit, greater accuracy from air strikes is crucial on two fronts.
Afghan ground forces have struggled to contain a stubborn insurgency that is fighting to topple the Western-backed government and drive out foreign troops, and their reliance on effective air support is increasing.
And civilian casualties from air strikes have spiked this year, with 133 Afghans killed and 159 wounded in the first nine months of 2016, 72 percent up from the same year-ago period.
While no separate data were available for attacks carried out by Afghan, U.S. or NATO aircraft, the United Nations said two-thirds of this year's civilian casualties were caused by the local air force.
The UN also said Afghanistan had 41 aircraft capable of conducting air strikes by June, up from 28 at the end of last year.
PRACTICAL TRAINING
At a military range in Logar, students and pilots practise coordinating air strikes as warplanes and helicopters blast old cars set as targets on the ground.
The trainees used compasses, laser range finders, GPS devices and what Janssen called "very complicated" radios.
Afghan air force A-29 attack planes roared past as ATACs perched on a dusty hill consulted pages full of calculations and spoke by radio to the pilots overhead.
Nearby, U.S. advisers monitored the conversation, double checking the process and interjecting with advice, corrections, or encouragement.
Once clearance was given, a plume of smoke appeared under the aircraft's wing followed by a blast of dust as rockets hit the training range.
Unlike American soldiers, who may undergo years of specialized certifications to direct air strikes, Afghans in the program will be deployed after five to six weeks of training, although instructors say they will receive more advanced training later.
SLOW START
Like the Afghan air force more broadly, which only began to expand rapidly in the last two years, the ATAC program has had a slow start.
In an initial program, soldiers were pulled from existing army units for training as ATACs, said Colonel Troy Henderson, commander of the U.S. Air Force's expeditionary advisory group in Kabul.
When they returned, however, many went back to other army jobs, rather than working to coordinate air cover.
"They didn't have positions set aside, so the newly trained ATACs were out guarding gates," Henderson said. "We didn't foresee that problem when we started off."
Under the new program, initiated in March, ATACs have been assigned directly to the air force, allowing them to focus on their specialized role, he added.
Janssen said the reforms were already paying off, with deployed ATACs playing a more effective role in air operations.
During a recent operation in northern Afghanistan, an Afghan aircraft was 30 seconds from launching an air strike when an ATAC called it off because two goat herders had walked into the area.
"If the ATAC hadn't been there, then there could have possibly been a couple civilians hurt from the strike," Janssen said.
As the Taliban insurgency has spread, and Afghans have less access to back-up from U.S. planes and helicopters, civilian casualties caused by the Afghan air force have surpassed those attributed to international air strikes for the first time.
Other incidents this year have claimed the lives of Afghan soldiers and police caught in so-called "friendly fire" air strikes.
The ATAC trainees see their role as key to preventing more deaths in errant air assaults.
"We can take our coordinates and the enemy coordinates to prevent civilian casualties and hitting the wrong target," said Lieutenant Mohammad Akram, one of the trainees, after he practiced guiding in a bomb.
"This is our duty, to save people's lives."
(Writing by Josh Smith; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
An Afghan Tactical Air Controller practices directing an air strike during an exercise at a range outside Kabul, Afghanistan, October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Josh Smith
An American military adviser consults with an Afghan Tactical Air Controller during an exercise at a range outside Kabul, Afghanistan, October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Josh Smith
A group of Afghan Tactical Air Controller students make calculations for calling in air strikes during an exercise at a range outside Kabul, Afghanistan, October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Josh Smith
Dust rises from the site of a rocket strike at a range where Afghan troops practiced coordinating air strikes during an exercise outside Kabul, Afghanistan, October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Josh Smith
An Afghan Air Force A-29 attack aircraft flies during an exercise at a bombing range outside Kabul, Afghanistan, October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Josh Smith
An Afghan Tactical Air Controller practices directing an air strike during an exercise at a range outside Kabul, Afghanistan, October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Josh Smith
An Afghan Air Force A-29 attack aircraft fires a rocket during an exercise at a bombing range outside Kabul, Afghanistan October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Josh Smith
A group of Afghan Tactical Air Controller students make calculations for calling in air strikes during an exercise at a range outside Kabul, Afghanistan, October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Josh Smith
Hindustani78
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Afghan Airforce would be more to defend the soveriginity and territorial intregity of Afghanistan , Taliban are already working with the Afghan Central Government as talks been held.
The Government of India organized the first ever tele-conference lecture for Afghanistan National Agricultural Sciences and Technology University (ANASTU) on 2nd February, 2015 at Kandahar University campus.
ANASTU was inaugurated on 15 February 2014 by the former Afghan President H.E. Mr. Hamid Karzai and the then Indian External Affairs Minister H.E. Mr. Salman Khurshid.
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http://tass.com/defense/909765
ZHUHAI, October 31. /TASS/. Russia is taking part in repair of helicopters purchased by the United States for the armed forces of Afghanistan, Deputy Chief Executive Officer for after-sales services of Russian Helicopters Igor Chechikov told TASS in an interview on Monday.
"Proactive operation of our helicopters purchased by the United States is underway in Afghanistan; several countries make their repair. Furthermore, you are aware that the US government lifted sanctions on cooperation with Rosoboronexport exactly in respect of after-sales maintenance of Russian helicopters. This is because there is a large fleet of our helicopters in Afghanistan and the US pilots are flying them in particular, Chechikov said.
"Repair of the said helicopters is taking place with participation of the Russian party," he added.
Russia may repair about 200 Afghanistan’s defense helicopters if relevant agreements are reached with the US and repair plants in East Europe, Deputy CEO of Rosoboronexport Sergei Goreslavsky told TASS earlier.
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By Khaama Press - Tue Nov 29 2016, 11:47 am
http://www.khaama.com/funding-requested-to-update-53-blackhawk-helicopters-for-afghan-forces-02389
The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has reportedly requested funding to refurbish and update at least 53 UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), it has been reported.
A spokesman for DoD, Adam Stump, told Reuters “The Department of Defence has determined that procuring U.S.-made helicopters is a more sustainable long-term solution to meet the requirements.”
According to the paper, the $814 million request, made in a budget amendment submitted this month, would also provide money for other new attack aircraft for the Afghans.
It would help push the total funding for Afghan security forces to $4.2 billion for 2017, surpassing the $1.2 billion requested for arming and supporting local forces in Iraq and Syria.
Stump further added that the delivery of the helicopters will begin within two years once the Congress approves the funding.
The budget also requests funding for 30 additional armed MD-530 attack helicopters, six A-29 fixed wing close attack aircraft and five AC-208 aircraft for the Afghan air force.
The decision to replace Russian helicopters with Blackhawks was made following efforts by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT).
“This long overdue step—which I repeatedly advocated— will rightly provide the Afghan military with American helicopters from Sikorsky rather than lesser quality Russian products,” Blumenthal said. “It’s good news for Connecticut’s economy and jobs, and equally good for our national security. Millions of American dollars should never have gone to Russia for Mi-17 helicopters instead of Sikorsky Blackhawks—a travesty that will now be stopped.”
For more than a decade, the DoD has supplied the ANDSF with Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters, but ongoing sanctions resulting from Russian aggression have beleaguered the program and halted the flow of aircraft, parts, and supplies.
Home » Afghanistan » Afghan maintainers complete major inspection
Afghan maintainers complete major inspection
By Ghanizada - Tue Nov 29 2016, 8:31 am
Afghan Air Force maintainers completed the first 600-hour aircraft inspection in country, including the post-inspection engine run, on an A-29 Super Tucano Nov. 23, 2016, at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan.
This 600-hour inspection is a significant achievement for the AAF maintainers as they were able to use their recent qualifications to complete the maintenance with minimal contractor assistance.
“Having the Afghans complete major inspections in country will be key to their sustainability, and I was impressed with their efforts and enthusiasm to learn and complete such a complex task,” said Scott Stover, A-29 contractor site lead.
A milestone has been reached in the buildup of the latest fixed-wing combat squadron for the AAF. Maintenance graduates from initial A-29 training at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., have worked together with their contractor trainers and U.S. Air Force advisors to gain critical skills to maintain and employ this aircraft–which has been here less than a year.
A major inspection on the A-29 involves many separate inspections. Over the past three weeks, the maintainers took an in-depth look at the airframe and aircraft systems, including the flight controls, landing gear and avionics packages. The inspection is required preventative maintenance to ensure the aircraft is reliable until the next scheduled major inspection.
A single A-29 typically flies multiple combat sorties in a day, and major inspections minimize malfunctions between flights.
“Many aspects of the Afghan Air Force technicians’ backgrounds are parallel to our own,” said Tech. Sgt. Ralph Wellington Jr., A-29 advisor. “They come from various parts of their country and a variety of professions, all with one goal in mind–serving their country and working toward peace for their families.”
Wellington said many of the Afghan maintainers were prior maintainers on C-130s, C-27s, or helicopters. Combined, they have decades of experience to bring to the A-29 program.
“It’s this experience which has enabled them to rapidly learn the advanced systems, and in turn, impart that knowledge to their peers in their own language,” said Capt. Andrew Johnson, 440th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, fixed wing operations officer. “This feat is impressive since it’s done under a high ops-tempo generating combat missions, both here and at forward operating locations.”
AAF Brig. Gen. Shafi Noori, Kabul Air Wing Maintenance Group commander, was at the engine run to congratulate his maintainers’ efforts.
“You’ve worked tirelessly learning a lot of information and your ability to complete this inspection means today is a very special day for us,” said Shafi through an interpreter.
The Afghan maintainers will continue working with their contractor trainers and Train, Advise, Assist Command-Air (TAAC-Air) advisors with the goal of sustaining the A-29 fleet independently.
“Our mission under TAAC-Air is to train, advise, and assist in order to help build a professional, capable, and sustainable Afghan Air Force,” said Maj. Elbert M. Waters IV, 440th AEAS commander. “The commitment of the Afghans working with the A-29s is a testament to how far they have come, and how far they will go. Understanding that air worthiness cannot be achieved and maintained without dedicated preventative maintenance is key. This historical moment identifies that these maintainers get it…and are all in…in this fight against the insurgency and in the fight to build a stronger Afghanistan.”
This article was originally published by the US Air Forces Central Command by By Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Marino, 438th Air Expeditionary Wing
Hindustani78
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http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...tan’s-second-female-pilot/article16778314.ece
KABUL: December 08, 2016 18:52 IST
Updated: December 08, 2016 18:54 IST
In this November 21, 2016 photo, Captain Safia Ferozi (26) sits in a C-208, a turboprop plane used as transport for the armed forces, before a flight at the Afghan military airbase in Kabul, Afghanistan. From a childhood as a refugee, Captain Ferozi is now flying a transport plane for the Afghan air force as the country’s second female pilot, a sign of the efforts to bring more women into the armed forces to fight the Taliban militancy. Curiously, she has married another pilot Captain Mohammad Jawad Najafi, who has solidly backed her ambitions. | Photo Credit: AP
Sky is the limit for Captain Safia Ferozi (26), who is in a high-flying career fighting the Taliban insurgency.
From a childhood as a refugee, Captain Safia Ferozi is now flying a transport plane for Afghanistan’s air force as the country’s second female pilot, a sign of the efforts to bring more women into the armed forces.
Along the way, Ms. Ferozi (26) also married another pilot, who flies in the same unit supporting army ground forces. They are part of a small Afghan air force that is trying to take a greater role in fighting the Taliban insurgency.
She flies a turboprop
“When I wear military uniform, I really, really feel proud of myself as a woman,” Ms. Ferozi said while preparing for a flight at the air force base in the capital, Kabul. She flies a C-208, a turboprop plane used as transport for the armed forces.
Nearly 16 years since the collapse of the militant Taliban regime after the United States-led invasion in 2001, Afghan women are taking steps to increase their presence in society, including in parliament, government and the military. Still, they face resistance in a deeply conservative society where women are largely expected to stay in the home and where violence against women remains a widespread problem.
Fled Kabul for Pakistan
When she was a child, Ms. Ferozi’s family fled from their home in Kabul in the 1990s, during the civil war among Afghanistan’s warlords. They took refuge in Pakistan, returning only after the fall of the Taliban.
In high school in post-Taliban Afghanistan, Ms. Ferozi saw a TV commercial urging women to join the military. So after graduation she enrolled in the military academy, studying to become a communication officer. Then it was announced at the academy that the air force was looking for women to become pilots.
Ms. Ferozi and 12 other women applied, and she was the only one who passed the tests to enter training.
Piloting a family
While she was training at an airfield in the western province of Herat, she first met Capt Mohammad Jawad Najafi, the pilot who would later become her husband. They married nearly two years ago, and he has since backed her ambitions.
She graduated from training in 2015. She gave birth to their first child, daughter Nergis, now nearly 8 months old, and is back flying missions.
Five other women are currently going through training to become pilots in the country’s air force.
KABUL: December 08, 2016 18:52 IST
Updated: December 08, 2016 18:54 IST
In this November 21, 2016 photo, Captain Safia Ferozi (26) sits in a C-208, a turboprop plane used as transport for the armed forces, before a flight at the Afghan military airbase in Kabul, Afghanistan. From a childhood as a refugee, Captain Ferozi is now flying a transport plane for the Afghan air force as the country’s second female pilot, a sign of the efforts to bring more women into the armed forces to fight the Taliban militancy. Curiously, she has married another pilot Captain Mohammad Jawad Najafi, who has solidly backed her ambitions. | Photo Credit: AP
Sky is the limit for Captain Safia Ferozi (26), who is in a high-flying career fighting the Taliban insurgency.
From a childhood as a refugee, Captain Safia Ferozi is now flying a transport plane for Afghanistan’s air force as the country’s second female pilot, a sign of the efforts to bring more women into the armed forces.
Along the way, Ms. Ferozi (26) also married another pilot, who flies in the same unit supporting army ground forces. They are part of a small Afghan air force that is trying to take a greater role in fighting the Taliban insurgency.
She flies a turboprop
“When I wear military uniform, I really, really feel proud of myself as a woman,” Ms. Ferozi said while preparing for a flight at the air force base in the capital, Kabul. She flies a C-208, a turboprop plane used as transport for the armed forces.
Nearly 16 years since the collapse of the militant Taliban regime after the United States-led invasion in 2001, Afghan women are taking steps to increase their presence in society, including in parliament, government and the military. Still, they face resistance in a deeply conservative society where women are largely expected to stay in the home and where violence against women remains a widespread problem.
Fled Kabul for Pakistan
When she was a child, Ms. Ferozi’s family fled from their home in Kabul in the 1990s, during the civil war among Afghanistan’s warlords. They took refuge in Pakistan, returning only after the fall of the Taliban.
In high school in post-Taliban Afghanistan, Ms. Ferozi saw a TV commercial urging women to join the military. So after graduation she enrolled in the military academy, studying to become a communication officer. Then it was announced at the academy that the air force was looking for women to become pilots.
Ms. Ferozi and 12 other women applied, and she was the only one who passed the tests to enter training.
Piloting a family
While she was training at an airfield in the western province of Herat, she first met Capt Mohammad Jawad Najafi, the pilot who would later become her husband. They married nearly two years ago, and he has since backed her ambitions.
She graduated from training in 2015. She gave birth to their first child, daughter Nergis, now nearly 8 months old, and is back flying missions.
Five other women are currently going through training to become pilots in the country’s air force.
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By Khaama Press - Sun Dec 18 2016, 8:27 am
http://www.khaama.com/afghan-forces-receive-light-attack-aircraft-in-kandahar-airfield-02492
The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) received the first A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft in Kandahar Airfield amid ongoing efforts to boost the airpower of the Afghan forces to suppress a resurgent Taliban. (U.S. Air Force photos by Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Noonkester)
The planes were deployed earlier this month and a ceremony was organized to mark the arrival of the aircraft.
Members of the 738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, participate in a ceremony for the arrival of A-29 Super Tucanos with Afghan Air Force members from Kandahar Air Wing Dec. 1, 2016,” according to 438th Air Expeditionary Wing.
The statement further added “The ceremony marked the arrival of the A-29s to KAF. Participants from both the AAF and US Air Force welcomed the arrival of the increased combat capability to the region.”
The Afghan Air Force received several A-29 and MD-530 Cayuse helicopters from the United States earlier this year which are playing a key role in providing close air support to the Afghan forces.
“The AAF’s capability to provide airlift, casualty evacuation (CASEVAC),4 and organic aerial fires continue to improve as the Department of Defense (DoD) fields more aircraft to the AAF and as its pilots and crews gain operational experience. With the fielding of 12 additional MD- 530 attack helicopters during the reporting period and several more months of operational employment of the A-29 light attack aircraft, the AAF demonstrated increasing effectiveness in providing aerial fires in support of ANA ground forces,” according to the latest Pentagon report, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan.
The report further added that the use of A-29s and MD-530s in particular were critical to the success of ANDSF offensive clearing operations during Operation Shafaq. After a little more than six months of conducting combat operations, the ANDSF is proving increasingly effective at integrating the A-29 into operations. The AAF is also working more closely with the ANA to improve aerial fires integration through the further development of Afghan Tactical Air Coordinators (ATAC).
The AAF use the A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft to attack targets of strategic significance and to provide critical air support, such as aerial fires, to ground forces. The A-29 can carry Mk-81 250-lb bombs, Mk-82 500-lb bombs, rockets, and two .50 cal machine guns mounted in the wings.
The A-29 is also capable of employing laser-guided bombs, but due to low aircrew experience levels, technical issues with front seat targeting and aircraft performance limitations, employment training has been delayed, the report stated, adding that the A-29 pilots however continue to achieve high accuracy with unguided bombs, and there has been no operational impact due to the delay of the laser-guided bomb training.
Eight A-29s are in Afghanistan along with their Afghan pilots and associated maintenance personnel. Twelve more Afghan A-29s are at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, to support pilot and maintenance training, and will be delivered to Kabul by late 2018.
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