Afghanistan Faces lack of Crew for Black Hawks Copters

The U.S. Special Inspector for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has warned in a report that Afghanistan faces lack of pilots and engineers to use Black Hawk helicopters.

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The U.S. Special Inspector for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has warned in a report that Afghanistan faces lack of pilots and engineers to use Black Hawk helicopters.
The warning comes amid widespread fears that the Afghan military will struggle to cope with a looming pullout of allied foreign troops after more than 17 years of conflict.

The U.S. military has provided the first 16 of a scheduled 159 UH-60 Black Hawks to the Afghan air force and its special forces, a move the watchdog says raises concerns about the country’s ability to absorb the rest by 2023. According to Reuters.

According to the source, SIGAR calls for efforts to improve pilot training timetables and English-language skills, as well as build a teaching program for Afghan maintenance crews to replace foreign contractors.
“Given concerns that the Afghan air force and special mission wing may not be able to fully use all 159 aircraft when delivered, the Department of Defence runs the risk of wasting U.S. taxpayer dollars to purchase aircraft the AAF and SMW cannot fly or maintain,” SIGAR said.

The Black Hawks are intended to replace a fleet of aging Soviet-era helicopters that now serve as workhorses for the Afghan air force, which is battling Taliban militants who have stepped up attacks over the last two years.