Afghan air force to receive A-29 attack aircraft in 2016

Asia-Pacific, News, US December 30, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

The Afghan air force is finally set to receive its first batch of A-29 Super Tucano light-attack aircraft after numerous delays, Military.com reported.

The A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft and the crews trained in the U.S. to fly them will finally begin arriving in Afghanistan next year to give fixed-wing ground attack capability to the struggling air component of the Afghan National Security Forces, according to the Pentagon.

“We wish we had started earlier,” Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said in Afghanistan earlier this month, but deliveries are now being scheduled and “will be completed over the next year or so.”

At the heart of the A-29’s mission system are its two latest-generation MDPs (Mission & Display Processors), which receive and process data from sensors, navigation and attack variables and manage a multitude of other tasks such as HOTAS (Hands-On Throttle and Stick) operations, in addition to symbology generation and presentation for HUD and CMFDs.

The U.S. Air Force first issued a solicitation for the production-ready light-air-support aircraft back in October 2010. Beechcraft Corp. and Sierra Nevada Corp., which teamed with Embraer S.A., were the only two firms to submit proposals for the award.

While the contract appears back on track now, the program remains troubled.

Recently, two Afghan maintenance personnel went missing from the pilot training program at Moody Air Force Base near Valdosta, Georgia. The Department of Homeland Security is still looking for the two Afghans.

Mirwais Kohistani and Shirzad Rohullah went missing on Dec. 8 just before they were to graduate and haven’t showed up yet. They were tasked to the 81st Fight Squadron, mainly to learn how to operate the mechanics of fighter planes.

“We are actively working to locate these two individuals in coordination with the State Department and the Department of Defense,” said Bryan Cox, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Atlanta.

“We have no information to lead us to believe at this time that they pose any specific threat,” he added. “We are examining a variety of electronic and physical information and following those leads where they take us.”