The Afghan Air Force flies non-stop to stop the Taliban’s advance. In doing so, they rely on an airplane that looks like it was from the Second World War.
After the US and allies leave the country, the troops of the Afghan Army (ANA) are under pressure. The Taliban are advancing everywhere, the ANA has only one advantage: unlike the Taliban, they have an air force. And unlike the US to the mujahideen, Russia and China are not delivering portable anti-aircraft missiles to the insurgents.
In this difficult situation, not a day goes by on which Kabul does not report a successful deployment of the air force. The air force there has around 150 aircraft and helicopters, but real fighters are rare. Kabul has eight Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters – a flying tank whose predecessor the Soviets were already using in the country.
There are also machines of the Super Tucano Embraer A-29 type. A total of 30 have been ordered, there are said to be 19 in Afghanistan, how many are operational is unknown. The Super Tucano is a ground attack aircraft – or light ground attack aircraft. In a sense a successor to the IL-2 Sturmovik, the most built aircraft of the Second World War or the attack aircraft variants of the Ju-87 Stuka.
Cold War relatives
The great powers USA and Russia also have such aircraft in use. With the Russians it is the Sukhoi Su-25 Grach, with the Americans the much better known Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II – nickname “Warthog”. But both models differ significantly from the Embraer. They were not designed for counterinsurgency, but for the collision of large armor masses, as was assumed in the Cold War. In addition, both are significantly larger and have two engines.
The Super Tucano, on the other hand, is a much more modern aircraft; it has been built since 2003, even if, with its turbofan drive and propeller, it looks to the layman like an aircraft from the Second World War. The machine comes from Embraer in Brazil and is specially designed for today’s low-intensity conflicts. It can also be said to be the poor man’s air force. Unlike multi-role fighters, the A-29 was not primarily built for aerial combat against other fighter jets. It combines simple maintenance, low operating costs, minimal requirements for the runway with properties such as a long flight duration and a high weapon load. While a modern fighter jet cannot stay in the air on demand due to its limited flight time, that is entirely possible for the A-29.
At the same time, the A-29 is equipped like a modern fourth generation jet. For example, it can take off, land and fly ground missions at night. Because stealth and outstanding flight characteristics are irrelevant, the A-29 carries its weapons outboard in nacelles.
Robust and frugal
Afghanistan received the first four models in January 2016, and the pilots were trained in the United States. The Pentagon also bought and paid for the aircraft. The single-engine machine has a crew of two, similar to a combat helicopter. With a length of 11.30 meters and a wingspan of 11.14 meters, it is a relatively small aircraft. The dimensions of the A-10: 16.26 meters and 17.53 meters. However, it does not go beyond 590 km / h. It is not cheap, the system price is between 20 and 30 million US dollars.
The weapon load is also limited to 1800 kilograms. Thanks to the gondola system, the Super Tucano can carry numerous different weapons with it depending on the job. Among other things, laser-guided bombs are used in Afghanistan. There can also be air-to-surface missiles and cheap unguided free-fall bombs. These in turn contain bombs with cluster munitions and aerosol bombs.
Two 12.7 mm machine guns are permanently installed in the wings. Two 20 mm automatic cannons can be carried in one container. A weapon like the A-10’s 30mm rotary cannon couldn’t transport the small aircraft. Customers include countries such as Nigeria, Mali, Lebanon and the Philippines – the USA has at times considered buying such an inexpensive aircraft itself, but rejected the plan again.
So far, the Afghan armed forces have not yet lost an aircraft in combat, and the machine is also protected against ground fire from light weapons. However, the Taliban have developed a different strategy to weaken the air force. They kill the pilots outside the bases when they are with their families. Seven pilots are said to have fallen victim to such attacks in the past few months.
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