Afghan Air Force - Still Not Big Enough

General Karimi, Afghan Army Chief of Staff, says that the ANSF needs more air support - Currently there are only four Mi-35 Attack Helicopters operating (flying) in the Afghan Air Force (AAF) - two for the northern regions and two for the southern regions. The AAF recently received six MD-530 helicopters armed with weaponry but they are still in the fielding phase - not yet committed to the fight. In addition some Mi-17s, a transport helicopter not really suited to ground attack, are armed with machine guns. The fielding of the twenty A-29 Super Tucanos is still many months away. So for fire support the ANA must depend on their D-30 122mm Howitzers and the limited air support that Resolute Support headquarters can provide. One aspect of the current fighting is that the Taliban can now mass for large-scale attacks against small outposts and combat bases. In previous fighting seasons these large formations of 200 plus insurgent fighters would have been pounded by Coalition air strikes. Not so much now.

Armed MD-530 Helicopters Delivered

Six MD-530 Armed Helicopters Arrive (Photo 438th AEW)

The Afghan Air Force (AAF) has received delivery on March 18, 2015 the first six armed MD-530 helicopters. These small helicopters will be used for close air attack and other missions by the AAF. View photos of the arrival posted to Facebook by the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing. There are currently unarmed MD-530 helicopters being used primarily for pilot training at Shindand Air Base in western Afghanistan. A few factors have prodded the U.S. military to put weapons systems on the MD-530. The shelf life of the five Mi-35 Attack Helicopters is ending in 2016 (unless future plans change that). Of these five the AAF is lucky to have 2 or 3 flying at any given time. In addition, the fielding of the A-29 Super Tucano - a close air support aircraft - has been significantly delayed by U.S. Air Force mismanagement and Congressional meddling. The fact that the U.S. has withdrawn much of its close air support platforms and very rarely provides close air support to the Afghan security forces is an additional factor as well. Read more about the MD-530F Helicopter at the link below:

www.afghanwarnews.info/air/md-530f.htm

AAF: Good News, Bad News, & IO

First A-29 to arrive in Afghanistan Dec 2015

Information Operations (IO) plays a big role in a counterinsurgency. On one hand, the insurgents (that would be the Taliban in Afghanistan) want to paint the government as illegal, corrupt, and unable to provide basic services and security to the population. The government side wants to be perceived as legitimate, not corrupt, and able to provide Rule of Law, development, governance and security.

Narrowing our focus, the Afghan government and its Resolute Support partners, would like to be able to show that the ANA and ANP can provide security to the Afghan population and that its security forces can successfully operate against insurgents. That, of course, is a hard sell. 2014 was a year that recorded the highest number of civilian casualties since the fall of the Taliban, the ANSF are suffering the highest combat casualties ever, and the personnel strength of the ANA is now at its lowest levels since 2011. Now comes the IO part. News releases by the Afghan government and the U.S. will paint a rosy picture. However, sometimes the facts get in the way and even with the same facts - the message can be different. For example:

U.S. Air Forces Central Command recently put a news release entitled "Afghan Air Force braces for Fighting Season '15", March 10, 2015. In the article an Afghan Air Force officer is quoted as saying "The Afghan Air Force is well prepared for Fighting Season 2015". Hmmm. Another quote by a USAF officer - "This year, they will have nearly six times the number of armed aircraft,  . . ." (by putting machine guns on transport helicopters). And, of course, this article does not fail to mention the long-over due A-29 Super Tucano (pictured above). The USAF has been talking about this CAS platform for many years as an example of how the Afghan Air Force (AAF) is constantly improving but the first one of 20 won't even arrive in Afghanistan until December 2015!

Compare the CENTCOM news release with one published on January 25, 2015 by Reuters entitled "Afghan air force ascent slow, imperiling battle with Taliban". Using the same numbers Reuters paints a different picture.

The Resolute Support advisors working strategic communications (EF8) have a lot of work to do.

First Flights for Afghan A-29 Pilots (March 5th, 2015)

(Photo of A-29 Moody AFB, GA Mar 5, 2015)

The flight training for Afghan pilots who will be flying the A-29 Super Tocano in Afghanistan in late December 2015 or early 2016 has just started. Eight students had their first flight in the A-29 on March 5, 2015 at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. The A-29 will be used by the AAF to provide critical air support to ground forces.

A-29 CAS Aircraft to be Fielded Dec 2015

A recent press report says that a few of the twenty A-29 Super Tucano turboprop aircraft for the Afghan Air Force (AAF) will start to arrive in Afghanistan in December 2015. This will be just in time for the 2016 fighting season. However, the bulk of the aircraft won't be deployed until 2017 and 2018. The ANSF will have to rely on a variety of stop-gaps until the A-29's arrive and are integrated into combat operations. Some of those stop-gaps were described by General Campbell during his recent testimony before Congress on March 4, 2015 as use of Quick Reaction Forces (QRFs), employment of artillery fires (D-30 122mm Howitzer), employment of organic mortars (82mm Mortar), and the helicopters in the AAF armed with weaponry (such as the Mi-35, MD 530s, and Mi-17s). The fielding of the A-29s was caught up in a contract dispute aggravated by congressional members who were playing politics. Read more in "Afghan Military to Receive A-29 Close Air Support Planes in December", Military.com, March 5, 2015.

AAF Medics Teach Lifesaving Skills to ANA

The Afghan Air Force (AAF) is sending out small medical teams to teach MEDEVAC procedures to medics of the Afghan National Army (ANA). Recently two AAF flight medics traveled to Herat in western Afghanistan to train 19 ANA soldiers in the fundamentals of loading and offloading patients from the Mi-17 helicopter and the C-208 Cessna Caravan (a small fixed-wing aircraft). Both of these aircraft are used by the AAF to transport wounded and injured members of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to medical care. While the Mi-17 can land in areas without an airstrip the C-208 has greater range (but requires an airstrip). Sometimes both aircraft are used in combination to transport the injured and wounded - called a hub-and-spoke principle of casualty evacuation. Read more in "Afghan Air Force medics teach lifesaving skills to ANA troops", RS News, January 28, 2014. (Photo by Capt. Jeff M. Nagan, 438th Air Expeditionary Wing).

777th Joint Air Brigade of the AAF

The Afghan Air Force's 777 Joint Air Brigade is now providing the air support needed during the conduct of night raids by the special operations units of the Afghan National Army (ANA), Afghan National Police (ANP), and the National Directorate of Security (NDS). Read more in "AAF Special Brigade '777' Leads Night Raids Successfully", Tolo News, January 13, 2015.

Afghan Air Support Improves

The Afghan Air Force has had a slow start getting established. It was plagued by illiteracy, corruption, inefficiency, bad leadership, ANSF dependency on U.S. air support, lack of support by ISAF in the initial years of the conflict, and poor management of training and support contracts by the U.S. Air Force. The Afghan Air Force conducts a variety of missions to include the transport of supplies and personnel, close air support, aerial reconnaissance, and medical evacuation. In the past two years it has improved although not enough to be able to fully support the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police. Read more in "From resupply to evacs, Afghan air support assumes growing role", Stars and Stripes, January 10, 2015.

AAF Fly-Away Security Team Training

Eight Afghan Air Force security forces airmen graduated from the first Kabul Air Wing Fly-Away Security training course. The five-day training consisted of six Mi-17 helicopter insertions and extractions. The Mi-17 was operated by Afghan pilots. The training enables the security team to conduct both aerial and ground operations. The training was assisted by advisors from the 439th Air Expeditionary Advising Squadron. Read more in "Kabul Afghan Airmen complete FAST training", U.S. Air Force news release, January 7, 2015.

Students of Afghan Air Force

Flying students in the Afghan Air Force (AAF) attend their training at Shindand Airbase in western Afghanistan. The aircraft they learn on is the Cessna 182T. Shindand Airbase is about 60 miles south of Herat and 75 miles from the Iranian border. The airfield, a former base for the Soviet Union, opened for flight training in September 2011 with the arrival of the first C-182T. The U.S. Air Force is working in conjunction with Integration Innovation, Inc. (www.i3-corps.com); the firm that provides contract instructors for the flight training program. The first I3 class started in December 2011. The students learn to fly Cessna 182Ts, Cessna 208s, and other aircraft. Find out more about the Afghan Air Force flight training program in "Learning to fly in a war zone", Blue Force Tracker, December 29, 2014.

Advising and Training the Afghan Air Force

A female air advisor and trainer, Maj Mary Clark, recently completed a one-year tour at Shindand Air Base, in western Afghanistan training and advising students learning to fly Mi-17 helicopters. Read her thoughts about her experience, the value of a female instructor/advisor, and on the Afghan Air Force in "Female aviator makes difference training Afghan AF", U.S. Air Force News, December 26, 2014.

AAF - Tucano Plane Under Fire

The United States is providing twenty close air support aircraft - the Embraer A-29 Super Tucano - to the Afghan Air Force. The aircraft are being made at the Embraer facility in Jacksonville, Florida. The program will cost over $429 million and there is concern that the money will be wasted. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) thinks that the Afghans don't know how to operate and maintain the plane. This conclusion is based on previous programs to assist the Afghan Air Force that have ended badly. Read more in "Tucano attack plane built in Jacksonville's Embraer plant comes under scrutiny", The Forida Times-Union, November 29, 2014.

LAS Program for Afghanistan Under Investigation

The Light Air Support (LAS) aircraft program for Afghanistan is currently under investigation by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). The LAS program is intended to help develop the Afghan Air Force's advanced flight program, aerial reconnaissance, and air support capabilities. SIGAR is concerned that this LAS program could be affected by training and maintenance problems that have hampered earlier programs that the U.S. Air Force has tried on behalf of the Afghan Air Force. The U.S. Air Force has a less than favorable record of implementing programs with the Afghan Air Force - so this oversight is probably needed. See a letter form SIGAR requesting more information from General Austin (CENTCOM Commander) and General Campbell (COMISAF).
www.sigar.mil/pdf/special%20projects/SIGAR-15-18-SP.pdf

C-27s and the U.S. Air Force

The United States Air Force has a troubling past with the C-27 aircraft. The U.S. Army needed a good, dependable tactical aircraft to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones in a time-sensitive manner. There was an agreement between the Army and the Air Force to field C-27s to fill this void; the aircraft would perform a type of transport mission that the C-130 was too large to handle. However, one just has to look at how the USAF is treating the C-27 fleet and you get a feel for how they are supporting this critical mission for the Army. The USAF's C-27 fleet is being eliminated entirely. Efforts to keep the aircraft in the National Guard were stymied by the USAF. Reports indicate that USSOCOM will pick up a few of the C-27s and the Coast Guard may convert some over to their use. Knowing the background of the Air Force C-27 fleet elimination helps understand why the USAF scrapped 16 brand-new C-27s bought for the Afghan Air Force so that they could field three C-130s. The C-27s are what the U.S. Army needed and the C-130s are NOT what the Afghan Air Force needed. The basic issue is that the Air Force wants "efficient" airlift (keep expenses down and stay on a forecasted schedule) while the Army needs "effective and timely short-range, tactical airlift" that is ideal for a counterinsurgency mission. Learn more in "The USA's C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft", Defense Industry Daily, November 19, 2014.

Afghans Request UK Air Support

The Afghan government has requested continued air support from the United Kingdom for its ground troops during the Resolute Support mission. Kabul's air force does not currently have the capacity to deliver close air support; but hopefully, it will in the future once it receives its twenty A-29 super Tucano light strike aircraft (2016?). Read more in "UK ponders Afghan request for air support", IHS Jane's 360, October 30, 2014.

Last of Russian Helicopters Delivered

The last of 63 Russian Mi-17 transport helicopters have been delivered to the Afghan Air Force (AAF) in October 2014. The Russian Federal Service of Military-Technical Cooperation says it will assist with future helicopter deliveries to the Afghan military and help maintain the aircraft already in service. The U.S. funding for the purchase of the Mi-17s were widely criticized by members of Congress because of Russia's support of the Assad regime in Syria and Russia's annexation of the Crimea and support of the Ukrainian rebels. In addition, there appears to be a bit of price gouging going on as well by the Russians. The U.S. military are staunch supporters of the Mi-17 program as the Russian helicopters are best suited for the Afghan terrain and maintenance capabilities. Read more in Russia Delivers Last of U.S.-bought Helicopter to Afghan Military", DoD Buzz, November 3, 2014.

More Aircraft for the Afghan Air Force

The United States will be providing additional aircraft to the Afghan Air Force. Read more in "Warplanes: Fixing the Afghan Air Force", Strategy Page,  October 30, 2014.

More on the C-27A Spartan Fiasco

The media is starting to ask some hard questions on why 16 perfectly good aircraft of the Afghan Air Force were scrapped. The $486 million program was reduced to $32,000 of scrap metal. Read more in "U.S. Air force probed for scrapping costly planes bought for Afghans", AOL.com, October 10, 2014.

Details of $44 Million MD 530F Helicopter Contract

You can read more details on the MD 530F helicopter contract for Afghanistan's Air Force in "MD Helicopters Awarded $44.2M Contract to Weaponize MD 530F Fleet for Afghan Air Force", Vertical Magazine, October 10, 2014.

16 Hardly Used C-27s Scrapped for 6 Cents a Lb

The C-27A fleet of aircraft - 16 located at Kabul International Airport - have been scrapped for 6 cents a pound or a total of $32,000. These 16 aircraft (plus four more at a USAF base in Germany) were part of a $486 million program to upgrade the Afghan Air Force (AAF). The aircraft, which had been parked at the ramp at Kabul International Airport, were towed to the far side of the airport and scrapped by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). An Afghan company took the aircraft away. This controversial aircraft program is a glaring example of waste by the Department of Defense. The U.S. Air Force seems to have switched in mid-stream by deserting a program (that admittedly had some maintenance and contract issues) of 20 perfectly good transport aircraft ideally suited for the Afghan Air Force and the terrain in Afghanistan for a new program of four C-130s. The C-27s were put aside because of some maintenance and parts issues; only to be replaced by the more complicated C-130. The more one reads into this whole issue the more confusing it becomes. Thus far the U.S. Air Force has not come up with a good explanation of why the C-27A program failed (and why they didn't fix it), why they thought that four more complex airplanes (C-130s) were better than 20 less complex airplanes (C-27As), and why they scrapped 16 planes instead of finding buyers for the planes (or parts of the planes - such as the engines?). Things that make you go "Hmmmm". Read all about it in Stars and Stripes, Reuters, Defense News, The New York Times, and Bloomberg News.