WASHINGTON - The United States has approved a plan to provide Ch-47 Chinook helicopters to the Special Mission Wing of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.
The Department of Defense informed regarding the planned delivery of the helicopters in its semiannual report which it recently provided to the U.S. Congress, covering events during the period of June 1 to November 30, 2019.
The report, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, states that “The United States continued to provide the ANDSF the necessary equipment and training to improve their capacity during this reporting period and focused advisory efforts at the “point of need” with reliable security partners to increase their effectiveness.”
“DoD continued to provide additional combat aircraft to the Afghan Air Force and plans to provide CH-47 Chinook helicopters to the Special Mission Wing to support its counter-terrorism operations and replace its Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters,” the report said.
The report also added “During this reporting period, DoD approved a plan to provide the SMW with CH-47 Chinooks to fully replace its Mi-17 fleet by the end of 2023.”
This comes as Efforts are underway to bolster the capabilities of the Afghan Air Force.
The NATO-led Train, Advise, Assist Mission officials had earlier said that the alliance would step up efforts to triple the size of the Afghan Air Force by 2023. (KHAAMA PRESS)