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The Afghan National Army Air Corps (ANA Air Corps) is one of six "corps" of the military of Afghanistan, and the only one responsible for air defense and air warfare. It was established officially in 1924 and for most of its history has functioned as a small but separate air service. The major exception was the 1980s when the Soviets built up the "Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Air Force," first in an attempt to defeat the mujahideen-led insurgency and, by the end of the decade, in hopes that a strong Afghan air arm would preserve the pro-Soviet government of Dr Najibullah. In 1992, the collapse of the Najibullah Government and the continuation of a civil war among several competing mujahideen factions throughout the remainder of the decade reduced the Afghan air arm to a very small force with minimal capabilities. In the fall of 2001, the US/Coalition bombing campaign neutralized most of what remained of Afghan air power. Rebuilding efforts began shortly thereafter but were extremely limited for several years. Especially since May 2007, the US-led, international Combined Air Power Transition Force (CAPTF) has worked to rebuild and modernize the Afghan air arm, now designated the ANA Air Corps. The CAPTF serves as the air component of the US-led, international Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan which is responsible for rebuilding the Afghan armed forces.[3]
[edit] HistoryThe history of the Afghan air service began on 22 August 1924 as the Afghan Air Force. As early as 1921, the Soviet Union and Great Britain provided a small number of aircraft to Afghanistan's King Amanullah Khan who had been impressed with the British use of aircraft against his government in 1919. For the next decade, Soviet pilots performed the bulk of the flying of Afghan aircraft, probably about one-half of which were Polikarpov R-1s, a Soviet copy of the de Havilland DH.9A. Most Afghan aircraft were destroyed in the civil war that began in December 1928, and it was 1937 before a serious rebuilding effort began. From the late 1930s until World War Two, British Hawker Hind and Italian IMAM Ro.37 aircraft constituted the bulk of the small Afghan air service. The Hawker Hind remained in the Afghan inventory until 1957, and as of 2009 one former Afghan Air Force Hawker Hind still flew in the Shuttleworth Collection. In 1947, the air arm was redesignated the Royal Afghan Air Force, a title it retained until further political upheaval in 1973.[4] By 1960, the Afghan air force consisted of approximately 100 combat aircraft including MiG-15 fighters, Il-28 light bombers, transports, and a few helicopters.[5] Also by that time, a small number of Afghan pilots were undergoing undergraduate pilot training in the United States; others attended training in the Soviet Union, India, and several European countries. In the 1973 "bloodless" coup, King Zahir Shah was deposed and Mohammed Daoud Khan became the country's president. During his five years in power, until the Communist coup of 1978, Daoud relied on Soviet assistance to upgrade the capabilities and increase the size of the Afghan air force, introducing newer-models of Soviet-built MiG-21 fighters and An-24 and An-26 transports. Improvements in the early-to-mid-1970s notwithstanding, the Afghan air arm remained relatively small until after the 1979-80 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, intended to support the Afghan Communist regime against a growing insurgency. While Afghanistan's air force was equipped with a large inventory - probably some 400 aircraft in the mid-1980s - many of them were manned and maintained by "advisors" from Czechoslovakia and Cuba. In many cases, the Soviets were reluctant to entrust Afghan pilots with either the latest aircraft models or high priority missions and, indeed, a number of Afghan pilots were equally reluctant to conduct air strikes against their countrymen.[6] The Afghan air force was at its strongest in the 1980s and early 1990s, producing some concern on the part of neighboring countries. The air service had at least 7,000 personnel plus 5,000 foreign advisors. At its peak, the air force had at least 240 fixed-wing combat aircraft (fighters, fighter-bombers, light bombers), 150 helicopters, and perhaps 40 or more Antonov transports of various models. Midway through the Soviet-Afghan war, one estimate of Afghan air power listed the following inventory:
Additionally, the Afghan air force probably operated some 40 or more transports, including the An-26, An-24, and An-2.[10] Another estimate in 1988 painted a more detailed picture of the Afghan Air Force:[11]
After the Soviet withdrawal and the departure of foreign advisors, the air force declined in terms of operational capability. With the collapse of the Najibullah Government in 1992, the air service ceased to be a single entity, instead breaking up amongst the different mujahideen factions in the ongoing civil war. By the end of the 1990s, the Taliban Government controlled the bulk of the surviving inventory, while the Afghan Northern Alliance/United Front operated a small number of helicopters and transports and a few other aircraft for which it depended on assistance from neighboring Tajikistan. With the breakdown of logistical systems, the cannibalization of surviving airframes was widespread. The US/Coalition operations in the fall of 2001 destroyed most of the remaining Afghan aircraft. It was 2005 before a US-led, international effort began to rebuild the Afghan air service; since 2007, the pace has increased significantly under the auspices of the Combined Air Power Transition Force.[12] [edit] Attack helicopter The Mil Mi-24 and Mi-35 (export model) attack helicopters have a long history in Afghanistan. The aircraft was operated extensively during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, mainly for attacking Afghan mujahideen fighters, livestock, and villages as part of the Soviets' "scorched-earth" policy. Early in the war, both Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters proved vulnerable to mujahideen ground fire, especially the SA-7, a Soviet-built, man-portable, heat-seeking, surface-to-air missile. Beginning in 1986, the US supplied the mujahideen with its state-of-the-art heat-seeking missile, the Stinger, which the Afghans employed with devastating effect. In the first use of the Stinger in Afghanistan, mujahideen fighters downed three of eight unsuspecting Soviet Mi-24 Hinds as they approached the airfield at Jalalabad on a late September afternoon. Some scholars point to that event in 1986 as the turning point in the war. Moreover, for most of the remainder of the war when Stingers were known to be present, Soviet and Afghan aircraft elected to remain at higher altitudes where they were less vulnerable to the missile, but also less effective in ground attacks. Although employed extensively throughout the war as a ground attack platform, the Hind suffered from a weak tail boom and was found to be underpowered for some missions it was called upon to perform in the mountains of Afghanistan, where high density altitude is especially problematic for rotary-wing aircraft.[13] Overall, the Hind proved effective and very reliable, earning the respect of both Soviet and Afghan pilots as well as ordinary Afghans throughout the country. The mujahideen nicknamed the Mi-24 the "Devil's Chariot" due to its notorious reputation. Since the end of the Soviet-Afghan war, the civil war of the 1990s, and the post-11 September 2001 US/Coalition operations, the ANA Air Corps is again operating the Hind, the export version of which is designated the Mi-35. As of August 2009, the Mi-35 provided the Air Corp's only ground attack capability and achieved initial operational capability.[14] [edit] Current As of September 2009, the Afghan National Army Air Corps (ANA Air Corps) had 32 rotary-wing and 8 fixed-wing aircraft in serviceable condition. Under a partnering relationship between the US-led, international Combined Air Power Transition Force and the ANA Air Corps, Afghan air power is being rebuilt following several decades of war. This rebuilding is ongoing on several fronts:
[edit] Inventory
The Afghan air arm deteriorated following the Soviet withdrawal in 1989 and collapse of the Najibullah Government in 1992, and it was nearly eliminated by US/Coalition air strikes in 2001. Especially since 2007, the redesignated Afghan National Army Air Corps has been gradually increasing its aircraft inventory, personnel, and operational capabilities, the result of extensive partnering with the US-led, international Combined Air Power Transition Force.
[edit] Facilities
A number of smaller airfields exist in the country, including:
[edit] Insignia   During its first incarnation, Afghan aircraft carried simple black and white depictions of the Muslim arms of Afghanistan, with the inscription 'God is great' on the underside of the wings. The Afghan flag was possibly used as well. Afghanistan adopted a black, red, and green flag after the 1929 revolt, and when the air force was given planes again in 1937, it placed this flag on the rudder, and adopted wing and fuselage roundels based on the three colors. The Royal Afghan Air Force retained the roundels until adopting a new style in 1967, with a unique insignia consisting of a tri-color triangle using the national colors upon a white disc, on which was inscribed with Arabic lettering forming various phrases. This roundel was placed on the rudder in place of the flag. This remained in use after the overthrow of the monarchy until the Russian invasion in 1979, when a new insignia of a red disc with yellow inscriptions was adopted. This was short-lived however, as in 1983, a more Soviet-standard red star on a white disc ringed in black, red, and green was adopted. These were maintained until after the Soviet departure. Upon the departure of Soviet forces from Afghanistan, and the fall of the communist government, a return to the triangle insignia was noted, although markings varied depending on the ownership of the aircraft. [edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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