By Franz-Stefan Gady
The top U.S. general in Afghanistan said that the Afghan economy will need financial support “at least” until 2020.
While the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) have kept insurgents from achieving their strategic goals in 2015, their performance was uneven and several shortfalls will persist beyond 2016, the commander of U.S.-Forces Afghanistan, General John F. Campbell, said on February 2 in a testimony in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee.
General Campbell, who also commands NATO’s Resolute Support Mission, noted that capability gaps persist in air power, combined arms operations, intelligence collection and dissemination, and maintenance. “One of the greatest tactical challenges for the Afghan security forces has been overcoming the Afghan air forces extremely limited organic close air support capability,” Campbell noted, while admitting that NATO has started to focus on building up Afghan airpower quite late.
As I reported previously (See: “Confirmed: First Four A-29 Light Attack Aircraft Arrive in Afghanistan”), after repeated delays, the first four out of 20 Embraer/Sierra Nevada Corporation A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft for service in the Afghan Air Force (AAF) arrived in Kabul in January 2016 .“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,” I explained.
Campbell attributes 70 percent of the problems within ANDSF forces to poor senior leadership, but explained that the Afghan government is aware of the problem. “The Afghan National Army has replaced 92 general officers, including the 215 Corps commander in Helmand,” the general said. While noting that logistics and maintenance issues continue to plague the ANDSF, the general expressed also cautious optimism: “While these systems are far from perfect, the foundation has been laid.”
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