fatman17
PDF THINK TANK: CONSULTANT
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- Apr 24, 2007
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Afghan National Army Air Corps (ANAAC)
GENERAL | ORDER OF BATTLE | INVENTORY | BASES
Following the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989, and the civil war that ravaged the country in the mid-1990s, the Afghan Air Force all but ceased to function as a capable air arm during Taliban rule from 1996 onwards. Lack of spares for the remaining Soviet-supplied hardware, and a loss of aircrew due to the change of political climate resulted in an air force that comprised little more than a handful of Mil Mi-8 Hip helicopters and Antonov An-26 Curl transports at the time of the US-led invasion of 2001.
Although, militarily, Afghanistan is still totally reliant upon the NATO-backed International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), since 2002 efforts have been underway to create a sovereign defence force; the Afghan National Army (ANA). Initial priorities centred upon rebuilding the infrastructure, equipment stocks and on a recruitment drive to re-establish a competent fighting force to counter any actions by the Taliban or its supporters. With personnel numbers reaching the 57,000 mark in 2007, and millions of dollars of US-supplied military aid ensuring that hardware and ammunition stocks rapidly increased, the Afghan National Army is now better manned and equipped than has been the case for more than thirty years.
Although the Afghan National Army Air Corps (ANAAC) was, in effect, established as the aviation element of the army as early as 2002, very little investment or focus was given to increasing its capabilities until 2007. A handful of fixed-wing transport aircraft in the shape of An-26 Curls and An-32 Clines, and a similar number of Mil Mi-8 Hip helicopters, were utilised in support of the ANA, but have played a very limited role in any meaningful operations owing to the equipment available in-country provided by the ISAF coalition. The only other aircraft in the ANAAC inventory at this time were six Mi-24V Hind E helicopters, which had survived from the early 1990s, and two L-39C Albatros jet trainers that had been donated by Russia in late 2003.
2007 can be seen as a watershed year for the ANAAC in terms of efforts to rebuild a viable and functional air arm capable of fulfilling its stated mission objectives; to provide trained and ready airmen and soldiers to execute critical tasks from the air in support of the ANA and, when directed, by the Ministry of Defence and General Staff, to support by air the civil authorities of Afghanistan at all levels.
Under the auspices of the US-led and financed Combined Air Power Transition Force (CAPTF), an eight year-long programme is underway that is currently gathering speed and should see the aircraft numbers of the ANAAC inventory triple during 2008. The first of these to arrive in Kabul in January 2008 were two An-32 Clines acquired from Ukraine. Another pair is scheduled to follow by April, all four being acquired with US funds under a $19 million contract. With the planned return to service of an An-32 that is currently being used to supply spares for two similar aircraft that were already in ANAAC service, a fixed-wing fleet nine Antonov transports is seen as being achievable by the years end. Long-term plans are somewhat more ambitious, however, and the USAF Brigadier General in charge of the CAPTF has declared a preference for a fleet of twenty refurbished C-27As to meet the ANAACs requirements in future. If this procurement goes ahead, the aircraft will be sourced from surplus Italian stocks of Aeritalia G222s with initial deliveries set to occur from June 2009 onwards.
The first quarter of 2008 will also see a significant increase in the numbers of helicopters available to ANAAC commanders, with the arrival of 16 Mi-17 Hip and six Mi-24V Hinds, from a variety of sources. Ten of the Hips have been purchased and refurbished by the United Arab Emirates, whilst the remaining six have been acquired with US and NATO funds from Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Similarly, the six Mi-24V Hinds are also surplus Czech examples and these are scheduled to join the ANAAC inventory by March 2008.
The ANAAC is also making headway in the process of rebuilding its infrastructure, which had been decimated by neglect and civil war over the past twenty years or more. January 2008 saw the inauguration of the Joint Aviation Facility 1 (JAF 1), a large state-of-the-art facility located at Kabul International Airport, built at a cost of $22 million. JAF 1 will provide both ANAAC and the Ministry of Interior with hangarage, maintenance areas, flight planning and base operations facilities, and will eventually serve as the headquarters and home base for up to 50 aircraft in future years.
GENERAL | ORDER OF BATTLE | INVENTORY | BASES
Following the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989, and the civil war that ravaged the country in the mid-1990s, the Afghan Air Force all but ceased to function as a capable air arm during Taliban rule from 1996 onwards. Lack of spares for the remaining Soviet-supplied hardware, and a loss of aircrew due to the change of political climate resulted in an air force that comprised little more than a handful of Mil Mi-8 Hip helicopters and Antonov An-26 Curl transports at the time of the US-led invasion of 2001.
Although, militarily, Afghanistan is still totally reliant upon the NATO-backed International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), since 2002 efforts have been underway to create a sovereign defence force; the Afghan National Army (ANA). Initial priorities centred upon rebuilding the infrastructure, equipment stocks and on a recruitment drive to re-establish a competent fighting force to counter any actions by the Taliban or its supporters. With personnel numbers reaching the 57,000 mark in 2007, and millions of dollars of US-supplied military aid ensuring that hardware and ammunition stocks rapidly increased, the Afghan National Army is now better manned and equipped than has been the case for more than thirty years.
Although the Afghan National Army Air Corps (ANAAC) was, in effect, established as the aviation element of the army as early as 2002, very little investment or focus was given to increasing its capabilities until 2007. A handful of fixed-wing transport aircraft in the shape of An-26 Curls and An-32 Clines, and a similar number of Mil Mi-8 Hip helicopters, were utilised in support of the ANA, but have played a very limited role in any meaningful operations owing to the equipment available in-country provided by the ISAF coalition. The only other aircraft in the ANAAC inventory at this time were six Mi-24V Hind E helicopters, which had survived from the early 1990s, and two L-39C Albatros jet trainers that had been donated by Russia in late 2003.
2007 can be seen as a watershed year for the ANAAC in terms of efforts to rebuild a viable and functional air arm capable of fulfilling its stated mission objectives; to provide trained and ready airmen and soldiers to execute critical tasks from the air in support of the ANA and, when directed, by the Ministry of Defence and General Staff, to support by air the civil authorities of Afghanistan at all levels.
Under the auspices of the US-led and financed Combined Air Power Transition Force (CAPTF), an eight year-long programme is underway that is currently gathering speed and should see the aircraft numbers of the ANAAC inventory triple during 2008. The first of these to arrive in Kabul in January 2008 were two An-32 Clines acquired from Ukraine. Another pair is scheduled to follow by April, all four being acquired with US funds under a $19 million contract. With the planned return to service of an An-32 that is currently being used to supply spares for two similar aircraft that were already in ANAAC service, a fixed-wing fleet nine Antonov transports is seen as being achievable by the years end. Long-term plans are somewhat more ambitious, however, and the USAF Brigadier General in charge of the CAPTF has declared a preference for a fleet of twenty refurbished C-27As to meet the ANAACs requirements in future. If this procurement goes ahead, the aircraft will be sourced from surplus Italian stocks of Aeritalia G222s with initial deliveries set to occur from June 2009 onwards.
The first quarter of 2008 will also see a significant increase in the numbers of helicopters available to ANAAC commanders, with the arrival of 16 Mi-17 Hip and six Mi-24V Hinds, from a variety of sources. Ten of the Hips have been purchased and refurbished by the United Arab Emirates, whilst the remaining six have been acquired with US and NATO funds from Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Similarly, the six Mi-24V Hinds are also surplus Czech examples and these are scheduled to join the ANAAC inventory by March 2008.
The ANAAC is also making headway in the process of rebuilding its infrastructure, which had been decimated by neglect and civil war over the past twenty years or more. January 2008 saw the inauguration of the Joint Aviation Facility 1 (JAF 1), a large state-of-the-art facility located at Kabul International Airport, built at a cost of $22 million. JAF 1 will provide both ANAAC and the Ministry of Interior with hangarage, maintenance areas, flight planning and base operations facilities, and will eventually serve as the headquarters and home base for up to 50 aircraft in future years.
