Most Afghan's air force fleet unfit to fly as NATO armies withdraw

LACK of maintenance has grounded much of the Afghan air force's fixed wing and helicopter fleet, highlighting challenges that face the country's fledgling military as NATO troops retreat from the embattled nation, reports New Delhi's Hindustan Times.

"In 1992, when I was chief of staff of the Afghan army, I had 450 types of air assets. Today, we have 102. One hundred two - mostly on the ground," said Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, according to the Washington Post.

Afghan ground forces rely on NATO air cover and evacuate dead and wounded while its cargo planes supplies outposts.

Half the helicopters have been in the Afghan fleet since 2007. Others were given later by the United States, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries. The helicopters now need up to a month of comprehensive inspections before they are fit to fly.

The bulk of Afghanistan's Russian-made helicopter fleet was barred from flying last month to undergo extensive inspections, following a grounding of cargo airplanes late last year because of maintenance problems, according to Afghan and NATO officials.

"We don't have all the air assets which are required for independent operations. It has become serious," said Mr Wardak.

Afghanistan's air force has been slow to develop compared to the vast build up of ground forces, with pleas for NATO fighter jets being denied on the grounds of expense and more pressing ground force concerns.

NATO has supplied 100 aircraft toward its target of 140 for the air force. But many of those, including fleets of 43 helicopters and 15 cargo planes, have been grounded or removed from service in recent months.

"We have raised the issue from the beginning that we were having a lot of problems," said Mr Wardak, who added that despite NATO contributions, the air force is not as strong as it was 10 years ago.

Fifteen C-27A transport aircraft were grounded in December. The grounding was reported last month by the Wall Street Journal. A subcontractor, a unit of L-3 Communications Holdings, had poor and incomplete records on cannibalised parts, tools and other safety problems, officials said.

"What we're striving for is developing a force that is capable, affordable, sustainable and right for Afghanistan," said USAF Brigadier General Timothy Ray, NATO's Afghan air training chief. "We have a saying that sometimes you have to slow down to get somewhere faster."