Afghanistan needs to radically increase its ground forces, if the Kabul government is going to have any hope of stabilizing the country. But almost as important is beefing up the country's low-tech, often-overlooked air force.
Anthony Cordesman, the heavy-hitting strategist from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, has a new report card on the armed nation-building effort in Afghanistan, and it's worth giving the whole thing a read. But his insights into the Afghan National Army Air Corps (ANAAC) are particularly enlightening. According to Cordesman's briefing, the ANAAC will go from a total of 43 aircraft and 2,800 personnel to a force with 154 aircraft and over 8,000 soldiers and airmen by 2016.
That means taking an aging fleet of Soviet-designed aircraft -- helicopters and airplanes you can hold together with chewing gum and baling wire -- and transitioning to a respectable Third World air power. Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CSTC-A) has outlined a plan for the Afghan air force that calls for building new infrastructure; revamping training; and buying some new aircraft.
The workhorses of Afghanistan's fixed-wing fleet are the Russian An-26 and the An-32, rugged turboprops that can take off and land at unimproved airstrips. Its main helicopters are also Soviet-built: The Mi-17 transport and the Mi-35gunship, pictured here. According to a recent CSTC-A briefing, the Afghans are now looking at some fancier new imports: Possible acquisitions include the C-27A (a more modern version of which, the C-27J, is being bought by the U.S. military) for a fixed-wing transport, and the Mi-17V5 (a tricked-out version of the Mi-17 with a Western communications suite, night-vision compatible cockpit and modern avionics).
Another possible acquisition is the counterinsurgency aircraft, a high-performance, single-engine plane that can double as a trainer or a light attack craft. The contenders? The A-29 (a.k.a. the Super Tucano) or the AT-6 (an armed version of the Texan trainer used by the U.S. Air Force). ANAAC will also be building out bases at Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar, Gardez and Jalalabad, along with a headquarters in Kabul.
Building a more capable Afghan air force is part of the exit strategy: While it will not happen overnight, having Afghan forces that can contribute to casualty evacuation, airlift and reconnaissance could take the pressure off overstretched NATO militaries. And Cordesman suggests another, more important role for Afghanistan's air force in the future: Helping manage air strikes. The ANAAC, Cordesman writes, "can develop the skills to support NATO in targeting and managing air operations, and take on responsibility for vetting air strikes and air operations. Such a partnership would do much to assure Afghans that Afghan forces were true partners in all air operations and played the proper role in reducing civilian casualties and collateral damage."
[PHOTO: U.S. Department of Defense]
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