The US Department of Defense will stop allocating funds for servicing the Russian Mi-17 helicopters in service with the Afghan Air Force - at the initiative of the United States, Afghan pilots will switch to the operation of the American UH-60 Black Hawk amphibious transport helicopters.

This is stated in the quarterly report of the Inspector General for Reconstruction of Afghanistan John Sopko, sent to the US Congress.

“The Afghan Air Force is gradually decommissioning Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters.

In fiscal 2022, the US Department of Defense will request funds for their maintenance for the last time, ”the report says.

At the same time, some Mi-17s will nevertheless remain in the air fleet to ensure operational potential, but only until the conditions for the operation of American UH-60 helicopters are finally prepared.

At the moment, there are 56 Mi-17 helicopters in service with Afghanistan, of which 32 are combat-ready.

They were purchased for the Republic of Afghanistan by the United States under a contract dated May 26, 2011 between Rosoboronexport and the US Department of the Ground Forces (part of the Pentagon).

The report also notes that against the backdrop of the Taliban * offensives and the withdrawal of American troops from the country, the combat capability of the Afghan air force has generally declined.

So, the Air Force does not have enough qualified pilots, and those that do exist cannot cope with the volume of tasks that are assigned to them.

In addition, local pilots are increasingly becoming targets for the Taliban - in recent months, extremists have killed at least seven pilots outside military bases, the document says.

  • Pentagon

  • Reuters

  • © Carlos Barria

In this regard, John Sopko, speaking at an Internet briefing for the Washington Defense Writers Group, noted that Washington's decision to transfer Afghans only to American helicopters seemed problematic to him.

“We have concluded in previous reports that the Afghan Air Force was at a sustainability level of almost 90-97% using ex-Soviet helicopters when the US government decided to switch to UH-60.

And we said that this is a problem we identified, "- TASS quotes the response of the inspector general to the question about the consequences of such a replacement.

Thus, the prospect of achieving resilience in the Afghan Air Force is receding, Sopko said.

Experts agree with his point of view.

For example, Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State Pedagogical University, noted that Washington only aggravates the already difficult situation of the Afghan military.

“In this case, this decision will not strengthen the Afghan Air Force, since Afghan pilots are accustomed to Russian helicopters, which are more versatile and convenient to control and conduct combat.

Given this, the Pentagon's initiative creates quite serious problems for the republic, despite the fact that the Afghan military now has completely different concerns, "Shapovalov explained the situation in a commentary on RT.

Despite the objective superiority

The Mi-17V-5 military transport helicopter is designed to transport personnel, the wounded, as well as to transport cargo, weapons and military equipment both inside the cargo compartment and on an external sling.

In addition, the vehicle can be used for the landing of troops and reconnaissance and sabotage groups, as well as for the destruction of ground targets.

According to the Russian-American contract, 63 vehicles were transferred to the Afghan Air Force, the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) reported in 2014.

In the future, more supplies were planned, but with the deterioration of relations between Moscow and Washington, all negotiations were curtailed to the point that the Americans refused to involve Russian specialists for the maintenance and repair of the Mi-17.

In addition, in November 2017, Washington announced the phasing out of the operation of Russian helicopters in Afghanistan.

It was planned to replace the Mi-17 with American counterparts by 2021.

At the same time, in the Pentagon itself, back in 2018, it was recognized that the Russian Mi-17s are best suited for military operations in Afghanistan.

“The transition (from the Mi-17 to the UH-60. -

RT

) creates a number of difficulties that have not yet been resolved.

Black Hawks do not have the same payload as the Mi-17 ... and cannot fly at high altitudes, so they cannot be used in remote areas of Afghanistan, where Mi-17s operate, "said the Pentagon Inspector General's 2018 report.

However, following the political agenda, the United States still intends to withdraw Russian vehicles from service, despite their objective superiority.

If we compare the key characteristics of the Mi-17 and UH-60, then the Russian helicopter has a large payload mass inside the cabin (4 tons versus 2.5 tons), a capacity (26-36 people versus 11), a practical range (up to 610 km versus 590 km), maximum flight altitude (6 thousand m versus 5.8 thousand m).

The fact that American vehicles are inferior to Russian ones was also pointed out by a military expert, retired colonel Viktor Litovkin.

“American helicopters do not behave very well in the mountains and require careful maintenance, while Russian Mi-17s perform excellently in Afghan conditions.

Afghan pilots fly well on them, they are easy to maintain, but the American Congress does not allow paying the costs associated with the operation of Russian equipment.

Because they believe that in this way they are investing in the military-industrial complex of Russia, "he told RT.

End of Enduring Freedom

According to analysts, the actions of the United States in relation to the Afghan aircraft fleet are dictated not only by political, but also by economic considerations.

Therefore, American machines are being imposed on the republic, despite their low efficiency in the country.

“Now the United States is not torn by a moral dilemma regarding Afghanistan, they do not care what the future holds for Afghanistan after the withdrawal of troops and the adoption of such a measure.

The US military conducted a 20-year experiment there, burned themselves, now Washington is going to pursue its financial interests, "Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told RT.

So, from the current report of the inspector general, it follows that 37 UH-60s have already been purchased for the Afghan Air Force, but most of them have not yet been transferred to the republic and are in the strategic reserve of the United States.

In addition, it is noted that the lion's share of the costs of the Afghan Air Force falls on the maintenance of the aircraft fleet.

  • American multipurpose helicopter UH-60 Black Hawk

  • Reuters

  • © Yannis Behrakis

“As in most previous years, the maintenance of equipment and weapons remains the most expensive category of funding for the Afghan Air Force (59% of funds allocated for 2020 financial year, and 69% of funds allocated for 2019 financial year),” the report says. ...

At the same time, despite constant financial injections, the report speaks of a decrease in the combat readiness of the republic's air forces.

And this is happening, as the document emphasizes, against the backdrop of an active offensive by the Taliban and the withdrawal of American troops.

“In June, five of the seven types of aircraft decreased combat readiness.

This coincided with the Taliban offensive and the withdrawal of US and coalition forces, including aircraft maintenance contractors, from the country.

Apparently, the combined influence of these two factors led to a decrease in the level of readiness of aircraft, ”the report concludes.

We will remind, from May 1, the United States began to actively withdraw its troops from the territory of Afghanistan, where for almost 20 years they conducted Operation Enduring Freedom.

By July 13, the Central Command of the US Armed Forces reported that 95% of American troops had left the republic.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov then called this exit "hasty."

The US plans to complete the complete evacuation of its military by September 11, 2021 - the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attack in New York, which caused the US military to enter Afghanistan.

At the same time, the accelerated curtailment of the operation of the United States and its allies led to an aggravation of the situation in Afghanistan - the Taliban intensified their offensive actions.

"In the trend of American politics"

It is noteworthy that the author of the current report, John Sopko, criticized the actions of the United States in Afghanistan.

In an internet briefing for the Washington-based Military Observers Group, he said it was a mistake to invade the republic from the start.

“We came to Afghanistan hoping to create a strong central government and to focus our efforts on this - that is where we were wrong.

Any expert on Afghanistan would tell you the same.

The problem is that we didn’t listen to any of them, ”the online edition of Task & Purpose quotes Sopko as saying.

In his opinion, American cash infusions led to even more corruption in the republic and alienated ordinary Afghans from the United States.

As a result, the inspector general did not describe the 20-year campaign of Washington in Afghanistan with the most flattering words.

“(The operation in Afghanistan. -

RT

), in my opinion, can be described in two words: the first is“ arrogance ”(because of the idea that. -

RT

) that during this period of time we can transform the country, which in 2001 year was in a state of ruin, in little Norway.

And the second is "deceit," Sopko said.

At the same time, analysts say, all the decisions that the Pentagon makes, including the change in the air fleet of Afghanistan, are in strict correlation with American policy.

“The Pentagon's decision to replace the Mi-17 is in the trend of American policy aimed at ensuring that the military departments of all countries subordinate to Washington use only American technology.

As a result, this leads to the fact that, while receiving additional profits, the American military-industrial complex is at the same time expanding the sales market for its weapons, "Viktor Litovkin explained to RT.

In addition, the expert added, the United States thus binds Afghanistan more closely to itself, so that it remains in the orbit of their influence for as long as possible.

“Of course, this is a political initiative.

Replacing Russian helicopters with American ones is aimed at increasing Afghanistan's dependence on the United States and at stopping its independent development, ”Litovkin summed up.

*

"Taliban" - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 14, 2003.