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| Afghanistan |
| US Provided $7.9B to Afghan Air Force Since 2010: SIGAR |
| 2019-11-11 |
| [ToloNews] A quarterly report by the United States Special Inspector to Afghanistan, or SIGAR, released on Oct. 30, reveals that the US provided up to $7.9 billion to support and develop the Afghan Air Force, or AFF, between 2010 to 2019. The report says $1.7 billion of the total amount was allocated for fiscal year 2019, which is $71.9 million less than what SIGAR reported last quarter. The report says the funds allocated to the Afghan Air Force in 2019 was $295.4 million more than the money allocated to other elements of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, or ANDSF. But former Air Force officials said the US fund to the AFF is not sufficient and that any fundamental work has not been done in this sector. "This is not an air force. It is a little better than zero. I mean that they have neither proper combat aircraft nor transportation aircraft or combat and intelligence helicopters. The United States assistance has been insufficient and is not worth mentioning," said Gen. Atiqullah Amarkhail (Ret.), a military analyst and former commander of the Afghan Air Force. "Used aircraft have been sent to Afghanistan. You witnessed how many helicopters crash-landed recently... Therefore, our Air Force is ’very weak’," said Mohammad Hashim Alokozai, a member of the Afghan Senate’s Defense Committee. The AAF’s current in-country inventory, as of October 1, 2019, includes 183 aircraft (158 of which are operational). The SIGAR report shows that as in previous years, a large portion of the AAF’s fiscal year 2019 funds has been designated for AAF sustainment costs ($842.1 million, or 51%). These funds, the report says, are primarily used to pay for contractor-provided maintenance, major and minor repairs, and procurement of parts and supplies for the AAF’s in-country inventory of seven air platforms: UH-60, MD-530, and Mi-17 helicopters; A-29, C-208, and AC-208 fixed-wing aircraft; and C-130 transport aircraft. Moreover, the report shows that the US Defense Department allocated $531.5 million (32%) of the AAF’s FY 2019 funds for equipment and transportation costs. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #9 How much got 'augured'? |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2019-11-11 17:14 |
| #8 a large portion of the AAF’s fiscal year 2019 funds has been designated for AAF sustainment costs ($842.1 million, or 51%). These funds, the report says, are primarily used to pay for contractor-provided maintenance, major and minor repairs, and procurement of parts and supplies Contractors are making out like bandits. Seems the way to go is to simplify and reduce the number of platforms (no Blackhawks, no C-130s, mre COTS) so the Afghans can take the lead on maintenance and sustainment. |
| Posted by: Speatle Tojo5556 2019-11-11 15:49 |
| #7 Basically, the AAF's job is to put down insurgents using those nifty little Brazilian single-prop ground attack planes, I ask about this here at the 'Burg awhile back when it seemed like the AAF was waxing jihadis left and right. I forget who suggested that the pilots were all contractors and not native Afghanis. And yeah, those little Super Tucanos are sweet! |
| Posted by: SteveS 2019-11-11 15:22 |
| #6 In 2017, the Afghan Air Force conducted roughly 2,000 airstrike sorties, about 40 a week. The AAF had a record high in October with more than 80 missions in a single week. By March 2018, the AAF had 12 A-29s in service. On 22 March 2018, the Afghan Air Force deployed a GBU-58 Paveway II bomb from an A-29 Super Tucano in combat, marking the first time the Afghan military has dropped a laser-guided weapon against the Taliban. You military types tell me if I've read between the lines here. Basically, the AAF's job is to put down insurgents using those nifty little Brazilian single-prop ground attack planes, and land special forces units in helicopters. Which it's doing, and which it's okay at. But Gen. Amarkhail & company want a hanger full of MiG-35's so they look more baddass to the Pakistanis, Iranians, and Indians... and we didn't get them any. Does that sound right? |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2019-11-11 14:09 |
| #5 So like we invaded Afghanistan because terrorists trained from and coordinated in Afghanistan an attack with planes with no bombs or bullets used only box cutters and took out part of the Pentagon incinerated skyscrapers and killed more people than the maps and now we our spending money for training them to fly planes with bullets and bombs like wow it is all so worth it or is it worthless? |
| Posted by: Angens Turkeyneck2026 2019-11-11 11:16 |
| #4 Don't you need people who are capable of becoming pilots before you can have an air force? |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2019-11-11 10:24 |
| #3 What a fucking waste. Could have just distributed that among veterans shuffling to and fro VA hospitals and those trying for loans, the homeless and unemployed. Just handed it out with the medals. |
| Posted by: Dron66046 2019-11-11 10:01 |
| #2 I would much rather the aid go too Irael than afghanistan. |
| Posted by: chris 2019-11-11 09:50 |
| #1 Tell me again how Israel is a major beneficiary of US foreign aid. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2019-11-11 04:06 |