Afghan Air Force is Growing

The Afghan Air Force is growing but not to the extent that it can cover the gaps left by ISAF's air support going away. Its Mi-17s are still not able to perform the various types of air support in the amount needed by the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police - MEDEVACs, personnel movements, air resupply, and aerial ISR. The close air support aircraft is the Mi-35 HIND Attack Helicopter - of which there are eleven and only half of those can actually fly. The Mi-35s are old and will reach the end of their life by 2016. Most pilots don't fly at night (they lack the night vision and training required). Maintenance is still a concern - much of it is contracted to foreign mechanics. The fixed-wing transport part of the Afghan Air Force is negligible - with only three C-130s and a handful of the smaller C-208 Caravans. The fleet of C-27As never really got into the air and they are now being scrapped. Read more in "Mustering the air power for Afghanistan", Defense Update,  October 5, 2014.