Aviation inflicts heavy losses on terrorists
The radical Taliban movement (recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in the Russian Federation) continues its offensive in Afghanistan in government-controlled areas. The only hope in Kabul is the supply of military equipment from abroad. As she learned in the local media, a large consignment of Russian-made military helicopters arrived in Afghanistan and will soon go to the front.
Photo: twitter @ Natsecjeff.
The Afghan army suffered heavy losses in battles with militants. According to preliminary estimates, the army has lost thousands of military equipment, including aircraft and helicopters. In the last week alone, the radicals managed to shoot down three helicopters of the Afghan Air Force UH-60 Black Hawk. At the same time, aviation remains the only hope for the Afghan army to halt the Taliban's offensive. Super Tucano light attack aircraft are actively used against terrorists destroying Taliban columns on the march. Military transport helicopters land in the rear of militant special forces units, which organize raids and surprise attacks on enemy bases.
Afghan troops are taking advantage of the fact that the enemy does not yet have a sufficient number of air defense systems. They use aviation in areas where the situation is becoming critical. The air force has already helped repel Taliban attacks in the areas of Kunduz and Kalayi Nau. Each time terrorists were forced to retreat under air strikes.
However, the losses of the Afghan air force are so high that the army will soon have nothing to face the terrorists. In this regard, the US military command decided to provide the Afghan authorities with another batch of military equipment. Last week, 7 helicopters were delivered to Kabul. Among them are Russian Mi-8/171 helicopters.
Since the early 1920s, the Pentagon has purchased several shipments of Russian aircraft for use in Iraq and Afghanistan – only about 100 helicopters. They were equipped with Western electronics and weapons. This technique was used both by the local armed forces and directly by American special forces. The US military has chosen the Mi-8 for its unpretentiousness and also for a number of other technical features that allow their use in difficult climatic conditions and in the mountains.
A batch of helicopters received by the Afghan Air Force was centrifuged from the US Army Reserve. According to the media, Washington has faced difficulties in operating Mi-8 helicopters in recent years. Due to tense relations with Russia, the US military was left without components and spare parts to maintain the combat readiness of Russian-made helicopters. In this regard, the repair of the helicopters was ordered from the Ukrainian company Motor Sich through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA).
According to media reports, at the same time the Ukrainian military industry is not able to meet customer needs.
Ruslan An-124 heavy transport aircraft were leased to transport helicopters to Kabul. They can be both Ukrainian Antonov aircraft and Russian Volga-Dnieper. “If the planes are Russian, then the United States has once again demonstrated its inability to address many international security issues on its own and declared the need to sever all relations with Russia.