Two senators are urging the Defense Department to purchase U.S.-made helicopters for Afghanistan, which would end reliance on Russian-made helos.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, sent the message Thursday over concerns that “Russia’s aggression remains unabated.”
“As utility helicopters remain in high demand for mobility and close air support of the [Afghan National Defense and Security Forces], and Russia’s aggression remains unabated, our nation must definitively and permanently end reliance on Russian-made defense articles like the Mi-17,” the senators wrote.
They called on Defense Secretary Ash Carter to provide “detailed information regarding DoD’s strategy for supporting the requirements of the ANDSF for helicopters and supplying an American-made helicopter to the ANDSF going forward.
“We urge DoD to develop a plan to field an American alternative to prevent such a problem from arising again,” Blumenthal and Ernst wrote. They recommend DoD use the U.S.-made Sikorsky Black Hawk, a helicopter widely used by all U.S. military services and other militaries.
President Obama enacted an executive order in 2014, after Russia invaded Crimea, barring business between the U.S. and Russian arms industry. This ban, while praised by the senators, has inhibited the Department of Defense’s ability to provide aircraft, parts and supplies to the now aging fleet of Afghanistan’s Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters.
These helicopters, highly used by Afghan forces, maneuver around mountainous terrain and provide close-air support in a country where infrastructure is limited.
