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| An Afghan Mi-17 (Image: Wiki Commons) |
by Mark Huber
There will be no more U.S.-bought Russian helicopters for the Afghan Army. The controversial program is officially over. The depleted fleet of rapproximately 50 Russian Mi-17s that the U.S. bought for the Afghans will be replaced by a fleet of refurbished Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks under a budget amendment submitted to Congress. Parts for the Mi-17s have been hard to come by in the wake of U.S. and international sanctions against Russia following that country's annexation of the Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Shortly thereafter, President Obama banned most dealings with Russian arms manufacturers including state-owned Rostec, parent company of Russian Helicopters, manufacturer of the Mi-17. The native Afghan fleet was kept flying by obtaining parts from India, but harsh conditions and attrition meant the existing fleet was hard-pressed to meet local needs. And a Pentagon plan to add $1 billion worth of inventory to the U.S.-bought Mi-17 fleet in Afghanistan was dead on arrival in Congress as early as 2013, despite pleas from U.S. field commanders and then Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel that the Afghans could get up and running in the Mi-17 quickly. “They’ve been using it for years,” Hagel said in April 2013 House testimony. “Easy maintenance, unsophisticated. We can get it pretty quickly. That’s the one they want.”
Read the full story at AINonline