Operational Afghan air force possible, but not certain
Published: April 23, 2013
The Afghan air force will not be fully operational until the end of 2016 at the absolute earliest, the top U.S. air commander in Afghanistan told reporters Tuesday.
“Building an air force from the ground up is no easy task,” Maj. Gen. H.D. “Jake” Polumbo said via video link from Kabul, adding that the “early signs are indeed encouraging.”
Achieving the U.S. goals, including an “operational and capable” Afghan air force and denying a safe haven for al-Qaida, is possible but not certain, he said.
One of the challenges is literacy. The ability to read and write in English is critical, Polumbo said, but it is not always easy to find recruits with the high levels of literacy and English proficiency required.
The air force comprises a very small percentage of the Afghan national security forces, and does not have any close air support capabilities, Polumbo said. However, the air force does have MI-35 helicopters and will begin getting A-29 Super Tucano planes next year. Still, those planes, which have close air support capabilities, won’t be operational by mid-2014 or 2015, he said.
In the meantime, coalition air forces will provide support when necessary, using a graduated approach to get Afghan forces used to working with the capabilities they have. And, he said, as the U.S. reduces its presence in Afghanistan, air forces will draw down at a “lower slope” to maintain the air advantage the coalition and Afghan forces have.
