Afghanistan Military & News
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TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
timepass
Brigadier
Site of GBU-43/B (MOAB), Nangarhar, Afghanistan
Footage provided by Afghan Local Police, from the site where the U.S. Forces - Afghanistan conducted a strike against an ISIS-K complex in Achin District, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan on April 14th 2017.
The strike is part of the U.S. campaign to destroy ISIS-K in Afghanistan in 2017. The munition used, the GBU-43, is designed to destroy caves and tunnels, which ISIS-K had been using to move around the battle field and protect themselves from attacks from Afghan and U.S. Forces.
Footage provided by Afghan Local Police, from the site where the U.S. Forces - Afghanistan conducted a strike against an ISIS-K complex in Achin District, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan on April 14th 2017.
The strike is part of the U.S. campaign to destroy ISIS-K in Afghanistan in 2017. The munition used, the GBU-43, is designed to destroy caves and tunnels, which ISIS-K had been using to move around the battle field and protect themselves from attacks from Afghan and U.S. Forces.
TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
US to provide Afghanistan with up to 159 Black Hawks to help break 'stalemate'
By: May 17, 2017 (Photo Credit: Spc. Shiloh Capers/Army)
As part of Afghanistan’s four-year road map to double its 17,000-strong special forces unit and bolster the Afghan Air Force, the U.S. plans to provide Afghanistan with up to 159 refurbished UH-60A Black Hawks to replace its aging fleet of Russian Mi-17 transport helicopters, according to Afghan and U.S. defense officials.
Ahmad Shah Katawazai, defense liaison and security expert at the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, D.C., told Military Times that the addition of Black Hawks to the Afghan fleet is vital for giving the security forces leverage needed to end the stalemate.
“We are in the midst of an insurgency where the enemy is getting tacit support from neighboring countries. Our security forces are under immense pressure as they are fighting each day, on several fronts, with more than 20 terrorist organizations.”
The development comes after Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee in February, saying more U.S. troops were needed to help break the "stalemate" against terrorists groups fighting there. The Trump administration is evaluating how many additional personnel it may deploy.
There is $814 million designated this year to bolster Afghanistan’s air force, including enough funding for 53 of the 159 Black Hawks, a defense official told Military Times. Each year, the Defense Department will have to request additional funding for the remainder. Officials expect to deliver 30 a year. The first delivery is expected in about 21 months.
A fleet of 159 Black Hawks would nearly double the Afghan Air Force's current fleet of 78 Mi-17s, calling into question whether Afghanistan has the capability to maintain such a large fleet of U.S.-made helicopters. And not everyone agrees that the UH-60 is a good fit for Afghanistan.
“Given that it takes substantial U.S. support to maintain the airframes that the Afghan Air Force has already, it doesn't seem feasible that they would be able to support that many Black Hawks without a significant contribution from NATO,” Dr. Matthew Archibald, an independent researcher and consultant on South Asian issues, told Military Times.
Afghanistan has had considerable problems with maintaining its current fleet of aircraft. The 2016 Mi-17 crash that injured top Afghan military officials andAfghan Army Commander Gen. Muhayuddin Ghori was determined to be caused by a mechanical failure resulting from lack of maintenance.
According to from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction , roughly 18 of Afghanistan’s Russian Mi-17s are unusable, two of the four C-130s are undergoing serious repair and one MD-530 crashed as a result of mechanical failure. Though the report acknowledges that most of the issues with the Mi-17 stem from their overuse, as Afghanistan heavily relies on the lumbering helicopter for troop transport, air assault operations and, at times, for offensive ground air support.
The replacement of the Mi-17 with the UH-60 has the potential to degrade Afghanistan’s total lift capacity and offensive firing capabilities, according to Archibald. “The Black Hawk doesn't bring nearly the amount of close air support capability that the Mi-17 does,” he said. In 2016, the Mi-17 fired its rocket pods over in support of ground operations in Afghanistan, a similar rate to its primary ground attack platform the MD-530.
U.S. defense officials push back on that claim. Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump said that although 63 Mi-17s were equipped with the ability to fire rockets, not all of them are actually armed and “very few of these aircraft have been outfitted with rockets because their primary role is to perform lift, air assaults and medevac missions rather than aerial fires missions."
Stump also said some of the Black Hawks will be equipped with rocket pods and additional offensive aerial platforms are being added to Afghanistan’s air force, which will make up for any loss in offensive capabilities with the switch.Afghanistan is also set to receive an additional armed 30 MD-530 Cayuse Warrior ground attack helicopters, six more A-29 fixed wing close attack aircraft, and five armed AC-208 fixed wing aircraft, he said.
American security detail watches while an Afghan MD-530 Cayuse Warrior takes off from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Sept. 27, 2015.
Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Sandra Welch/Air Force
As for a loss in total lift capacity, the Black Hawks are receiving a new engine designed to handle Afghanistan’s punishing terrain “and will be able to perform almost all of the same missions that the current Mi-17 fleet has been conducting in terms of number of people and cargo typically carried,” Stump said.
And then there's the question of timing and whether it will take too long to train pilots and deliver the helicopters in time to make a difference on the ground.
U.S. defense officials say it will only take 12 weeks to train Afghan pilots on the Black Hawk. For new pilots, training could take nine to 13 months depending on the English proficiency of the student. But according to a recent SIGAR report on Afghanistan, there are 68 Mi-17 pilots and 35 of them are instructor pilots, meaning Afghanistan could have to send almost hundred new pilots through entry-level training, taking up to a year to complete.
The nearly two-year time frame before the first UH-60's arrive may not be realistic or beneficial to Afghanistan, according to Franz-Stefan Gaddy, a senior fellow at the East-West Institute. "The Afghan military just does not have the luxury to wait a couple of years for the Black Hawks to arrive...these aircraft will certainly not be available by the time the AAF [Afghan Air Force] needs to retire its Mi-17 fleet next year," he said.
The procurement process to get the first batch of A-29 Super Tucanos took almost half a decade, and the entire fleet is still not operational, Gady explained. "From a tactical and operational perspective, acquiring the Black Hawk would be a bad decision for the Afghan military."
Training is expected to begin almost immediately according to an Afghan defense official. Four UH-60s slated for training purposes are expected to arrive in Afghanistan later this fall, the official told Military Times, speaking on condition of anonymity because the plan is still in initial stages. Officials at the Pentagon would not confirm the time or place of the training because the issues were still “pre-decisional.”
President Donald Trump is headed to the NATO summit in Brussels this week where the war in Afghanistan will be high on the agenda. Nicholson submitted his recommendation in April calling for an additional 3,000 to 5,000 more U.S. troops to assist with the "train and advise" mission called Operation Resolute Support. NATO allies are also considering a a troop increase in the war-torn country.
Shawn Snow is a Military Times staff writer and editor of the Early Bird Brief. On Twitter:. Mackenzie Wolf is a Military Times editorial intern. On Twitter: .
TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
Early on the US gave the Afghans Mi17 Hips From Russia. The Reasons were many the filled a number of missions, Transport, CAS, Utility. But as we all know the Relations between the US and Russia have been breaking down, and as time as gone by Paying the Russians for new helicopters for the Afghans has become more and more unpopular among the powers that be.
moving to the UH60 is... troubled. It's smaller than the Mi17 and leaves CAS missions behind Farther more the Afghans don't have the repair training.
The Mi17 and Mi35 had a history that could be worked from but there age has worked against them, they have also had issues of not enough crews for machines and needing extensive support to repair and overhaul.
Replacing the Mi17 with H60 runs into problems first because of size. The H60 is almost exactly half the size in cargo and personnel carry.
There are other options avalible from the west the S92 Superhawk, the AW101 Merlin, the EC752 Caracal.
The next one is the aim to field the MD530 Gunship for the Afghans. The MD 530 though is a very light machine intended for fast strikes and powered by very small single engine this has Afghan Pilots and Hot and High issues.
moving to the UH60 is... troubled. It's smaller than the Mi17 and leaves CAS missions behind Farther more the Afghans don't have the repair training.
The Mi17 and Mi35 had a history that could be worked from but there age has worked against them, they have also had issues of not enough crews for machines and needing extensive support to repair and overhaul.
Replacing the Mi17 with H60 runs into problems first because of size. The H60 is almost exactly half the size in cargo and personnel carry.
There are other options avalible from the west the S92 Superhawk, the AW101 Merlin, the EC752 Caracal.
The next one is the aim to field the MD530 Gunship for the Afghans. The MD 530 though is a very light machine intended for fast strikes and powered by very small single engine this has Afghan Pilots and Hot and High issues.
timepass
Brigadier
That's a daft remark.
US lacks the capability to solve Afghanistan's problems, just as every other outside actor. Russia and Iran as well as other nearby countries have more interest in ending the Afghan "troubles" than US.
The ground reality is Afghan regime is effective in areas where Coalition forces are based, while rest of the Afghanistan is still in the hands of either Taliban or local war lords (even Army Generals are also having different belongings & supports of different war lords).
The solution liaise with different factions (Taliban/War lords) of Afghanistan, not with dummy government. Therefore, if someone wants to sort Afghan problem they need to bring them to the table.
As you say. This is also industrial policy. The Afghans wouldn't be able to maintain new UH-60's let alone second hand ones. So some US company will be hired to maintain them providing lots of pork and making the Afghan regime even more dependent on US.
And the old helicopters will have to be replaced by new ones.
The size of the UH-60 was determined from the requirement that it could be carried by the C-130 a restriction Mi-17 hasn't been handicapped by.
TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
Actually they already have to Ship the Mi 17's out of country for a number of repairs and overhauls. The Afghans just don't have the infrastructure. You can call it Pork but frankly They already need to pay outside parties to fix their fleet.
As for shiping Black hawks into Afghanistan is via C17 not C130,
The Size of the H60 was determined based on a number of reasons including that the Machines they were replacing were the H1 in US service and Doctrine.
The Russian Mi 8 and Mi 17 were derived from the Russian wants for a larger turbine helicopter to replace the piston powered Mi 4. the Russians had helicopters comparable in size to the H1 and H60 the Mi24 and Mi 2 and As i Said there are western offerings of similar size to the Mi 8. The S92 Super Hawk of the US, The European EC 725, the British/Italian AW101 or they could have gone bigger and gotten CH47s. IF anything I think the choice was availability, They are refurbished US Army UH60A's.
TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
MD Helicopters to support MD 530F Cayuse Warrior in Afghanistan
By Stephen Carlson | May 25, 2017 at 1:18 PM
"The MD-530s are flying multiple missions a day across Afghanistan," Air Force Lt. Col. Bill Ashford of the 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron said last year, including aerial escort to convoys and responding to "troops in contact" situations. Photo courtesy of MD Helicopter Inc.
May 25 (UPI) -- MD Helicopters Inc. has received a $76.7 million contract for logistical and contractor support for the MD 530F helicopter, the Department of Defense . The contract falls under foreign military sales to the Air Force.
U.S. Army Fiscal 2017 funds of $37.6 million have been allocated to the program. Work will be completed in Mesa, Ariz., and Afghanistan. The program is expected to be finished by May 31, 2018.
"The MD-530s are flying multiple missions a day across Afghanistan," Air Force Lt. Col. Bill Ashford of the 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron 27 of the helicopters to Afghanistan last year.
"They are often engaged in providing aerial escort to convoys, providing over-watch to ANDSF operations and responding to 'troops in contact' situations."
is an upgraded armed variant of the OH-6 Cayuse light-utility helicopter, which saw extensive use during the Vietnam War.
The helicopter model has received many updates and been produced in many variations, including the AH-6J "Little Bird," which is used extensively by U.S. Special Forces as a light attack and transport helicopter.
The Cayuse Warrior can carry both unguided rocket pods and .50mm machine guns. It has an improved sighting and targeting system over previous models. The helicopter has a range of over 270 miles, flight ceiling of 16,000 feet, and can carry over a ton of weapons, personnel and cargo.