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| Image: Wiki Commons |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
The four light attack planes arrived in Kabul fully combat ready.
After repeated delays including a contract cancellation, the first four out of 20 Embraer/Sierra Nevada Corporation A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft slated for service in the Afghan Air Force (AAF) arrived on January 15 at Hamid Karzai International Airport, IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly reports.
The AAF is expecting an additional delivery of four more A-29 Super Tucano by the 2016 fighting season, with an additional four delivered in 2017. The remaining eight will be handed over to the AAF by the end of 2018.
“The A-29 light attack aircraft is a versatile aircraft that brings a number of critical capabilities to the AAF. These include close air support, armed escort, and armed overwatch,” according to NATO’s ‘Resolute Support’ Mission spokesperson, Colonel Michael T. Lawhorn.
The four aircraft will become operational within the next couple of days and will, in all likelihood, be deployed to support combat operations in the eastern province of Nangarhar and the southern province of Helmand, according to Afghanistan’s acting Defense Minister, Masoom Stanikzai.
Read the full story at The Diplomat