The armed forces of Afghanistan will completely replace the Russian Mi-17V-5 helicopters (export version of the Mi-8) with their American counterparts by 2023. This is stated in the report to the Congress of the Acting General Inspector of the US Department of Defense Sean O'Donnell on the situation in Afghanistan for January-March 2020.
“According to the six-month report of the Ministry of Defense to the US Congress on December 2019 on ensuring security and stability in Afghanistan, the department approved the final stage of the plan for the modernization of Afghan aviation, according to which, by 2023, they are armed with a special aviation wing (Afghan army. - RT ) Russian Mi-17 helicopters will be replaced by twin-engine helicopters of the longitudinal scheme and medium payload CH-47 Chinook, ”the report says.
Previously, it was planned to abandon the Mi-17V-5 by 2021.
A total of 20 CH-47 helicopters are planned to be purchased for the needs of Afghanistan. In addition, the report notes that the total number of proposed deliveries of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, which also plan to replace Russian aircraft, will not be 159 units, as previously assumed, but 53. This decision is due to a reassessment of the needs of the Afghan military.
"The most popular models"
The military transport helicopter Mi-17V-5 is intended for the transportation of personnel, the wounded, as well as various cargoes and equipment. Transportation can be carried out both inside the cargo compartment and on an external sling. From it you can carry out the landing of airborne assault forces and reconnaissance and sabotage groups. High efficiency of unloading / loading is achieved due to the presence of two doors on the sides of the helicopter and a mechanized ramp.
“The helicopter’s weapons complex includes unguided missile (up to 80 S-8KOM 80 mm unguided missile missiles), cannon weapons (hanging containers with 23 mm cannon weapons and 250 rounds of ammunition in each), and small arms,” the Rosoboronexport website says. ".
To counter various anti-aircraft systems, the machine is equipped with protective equipment, including from missiles with thermal homing heads. In addition, the cabin, vital systems and units are provided with powerful armor, which increases the combat survivability of the Mi-17V-5.
The helicopter can also be produced in search and rescue, fire, sanitary and passenger versions.
The advantages of the Mi-17V-5 developers include the fact that it can be operated both at night and in the daytime, as well as in any geographical, climatic and weather conditions. In addition, the machine can land on unprepared sites even in the absence of lighting.
Another distinguishing feature of the Mi-17V-5 is the ability to use a helicopter in high altitude conditions and at extreme air temperatures from -50 to +50 ° С. According to experts, this is especially true when working in Afghanistan.
The take-off weight of the Mi-8/17 is 13 tons, the maximum payload is 4 tons, the cruising speed reaches 230 km / h, and the flight range with the main tanks is 610 km (with two additional fuel tanks - up to 1180 km).
According to experts, the Mi-8/17 is one of the most common helicopters in the world. To date, about 12 thousand units of these devices have been produced, which are operated in approximately 100 countries.
The popularity of these machines in an interview with RT was previously told by the head of the Rostec state corporation Sergey Chemezov.
“Our Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters, as well as various modifications of these helicopters, are the two most popular models in the world. Today they are in almost all countries. It’s easier to say where they are not, ”he said.
For political reasons
Most of the Mi-17s at the disposal of Afghanistan was delivered as part of an agreement concluded in 2011. In accordance with the agreements of the Afghan army, 63 Mi-17V-5s worth $ 1.3 billion were delivered. In 2014, Russia fully complied with its contractual obligations.
- UH-60 Black Hawk
- Reuters
- © Bryan Woolston
Russian cars were purchased with funds from the so-called helicopter fund, the main donor of which is the United States, experts recall. Initially, the contract suggested the possibility of extension, but after a sharp deterioration in relations between the Russian Federation and the United States in 2014, Washington decided to abandon further purchases of the Mi-17.
“When the decision was made to purchase helicopters for the Afghan army, relations between the Russian Federation and the USA were much more favorable than now. However, after the well-known events in Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions, the situation changed. A number of US senators were very critical of spending US funds to buy Russian equipment. Afghanistan itself cannot afford such expenses. As a result, it was decided to purchase only American cars, ”Oleg Panteleev, Executive Director of AviaPort, explained in an interview with RT.
The Americans also refused to involve the Russian Federation in the maintenance of already purchased cars. In December 2015, the NATO Procurement and Purchasing Agency announced a tender for the maintenance of Russian helicopters. Only companies from member countries of the alliance could participate in it. A similar competition was announced in 2018. Then the US Department of Defense Multidisciplinary Specialized Aviation Administration announced the search for a contractor for the overhaul of the Mi-17 multipurpose helicopters of the National Air Corps of Afghanistan.
At the same time, experts say that the Americans intend to abandon the Mi-17 even despite the superiority of the Russian machine in a number of ways. So, the Russian Mi-8/17 can carry more cargo inside the cabin (4 tons versus about 2.5 tons in the UH-60). They also surpass American helicopters in range (up to 610 km versus 590 km) and maximum flight altitude (6 thousand meters versus 5.8 thousand meters).
More capacious CH-47s are similar in characteristics to the Mi-8/17, but Washington plans to purchase them only 20 units.
The advantages of Russian helicopters were noted even in one of the previous reports of the inspector general of the US Department of Defense (then Glenn Fine held this post).
“The transition (from Mi-17 to UH-60. - RT ) creates a number of problems that have yet to be solved ... The Black Hawk does not have the same payload as the Mi-17. They are unable to accommodate some of the bulky cargo that the Mi-17 can carry. We have to use two UH-60 Black Hawk to deliver such a cargo volume, which is transported by one Mi-17, ”The Drive portal quotes extracts from the report.
In addition, Fine noted in his report that, “unlike the Mi-17, the Black Hawk cannot fly at high altitudes and therefore cannot be used in remote areas of Afghanistan where the Mi-17 operates.”
The military official also pointed out that repairing the Mi-17 is much easier to carry out than the UH-60. This task can be handled by Afghan personnel who have been trained for this for more than a year. After switching to US aircraft, the Afghan Air Force will depend on foreign contractors for maintenance for a long time to come, he concluded.
According to Oleg Panteleev, the Mi-17 was really the best option for use in Afghanistan. He especially drew attention to the fact that the United States itself recognized this, but nevertheless went "against common sense for political purposes."
- CH-47 Chinook
- © Capt. David J. Murphy / US Air Force / DVIDS / Handout via REUTERS
“This machine is the most suitable helicopter for operation in the natural and climatic conditions of Afghanistan. Climate, high dust, mountainous terrain - our helicopter copes better with all these obstacles. He is unpretentious. In addition, it is good in terms of value for money, ”the analyst explained.
A similar point of view is shared by the director of the Center for the Study of Modern Afghanistan (CISA) Omar Nessar.
“Russian cars performed well in Afghanistan, and not only in recent years, but also in Soviet times. It was ideal from a technical and financial point of view. It is important that in Afghanistan there are many specialists who can handle Russian equipment, ”he said in an interview with RT.
According to the expert, the decision to abandon the Mi-17 was politically motivated.
“This was done for political reasons. The decision to transfer the Afghan fleet to American helicopters will not benefit anyone. First of all, Afghanistan, which now needs to retrain its technical staff, flight personnel and is doomed to use machines for years to come, which are much more expensive and much worse for a number of indicators, ”the analyst concluded.