A new step has come from the United States, which has been working with the Kabul government on the reconstruction of the Afghanistan Army. In this direction, Washington will arm the UH-60A Black Hawk utility helicopters in the Afghan Air Force inventory. The decision was taken by the US Department of Defence's direct proposal to Afghanistan.
Afghanistan, which has already produced Russian helicopters for the general purpose helicopters, is trying to replace them with UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters with American support. Helicopters will be armed with Unitech Composites production Lightweight Armament Support Structure (LASS). In the first phase, gun pods will be integrated into the helicopters of the Special Operation Wing, which is the special task force of the Afghan Air Force. Deliveries will start soon, and a total of 58 armored helicopters is planned. The first helicopter will be operational in late 2019.
The Afghan Air Force, which currently has about 47 Mi-17 in its inventory, also uses 16 UH-60A Black Hawk. Kabul will take delivery of a total of 159 Black Hawk helicopters. Deliveries are scheduled for completion in 2023.
