Replacing Russian aircraft, Afghan air force receives US helicopters

(Baonghean.vn)- On September 19, Afghan officials announced that the country's air force had received the first four UH-60 "Black Hawk" helicopters made by the US.This is part of a plan to replace the fleet of outdated Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters.

Afghanistan Air Force receives first batch of “Black Hawk” helicopters from the US. Photo: AP

“Today, the first batch of UH-60 aircraft for the Afghan Air Force arrived in Kandahar city. They will help further develop the capacity and stability of the Afghan Air Force,” said a representative of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission.

The US has planned to provide a total of 159 “Black Hawk” helicopters to Afghanistan in the coming years, aiming to boost the capabilities of the South Asian country's Air Force.

The Afghan Air Force is considered one of the most capable elements of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.

In addition, strengthening the Afghan Air Force is also a focus of President Ashraf Ghani's four-year plan to improve the country's security forces in the fight against Taliban insurgents, since the NATO-led coalition ended its main combat mission here in 2014./.

Lan Ha

(According to Reuters)