Afghan Air Force (1978–1992)

Afghan Air Force and Air Defense
The Afghan Air Force roundel from 1983 until 1992
Active1978 – October 1992
Country Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1987)
Republic of Afghanistan (1987–1992)
BranchAfghan Armed Forces
TypeAir force
RoleAerial warfare
Size20,000 personnel (1986)
Engagements
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Abdul Qadir

The Afghan Air Force (Pashto: افغان هوايي ځواک, Dari: قوای هوایی افغانستان), officially known as the Afghan Air Force and Air Defense was the aerial warfare branch of the Afghan Armed Forces from 1978 until the dissolution of the Soviet-aligned Republic of Afghanistan in April 1992. The United States Intelligence Community often referred to it as th DRA Air Force or DRAAF.[1]

History

During President Mohammed Daoud Khan five years in power, until the Saur Revolution of 1978, Daoud gained Soviet assistance to upgrade the capabilities and increase the size of the Afghan Air Force.[2] Newer models of Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 fighters and An-24 and An-26 transports were introduced. In 1979 the Air Force lost four Mi-8s.[3] Improvements in the early-to-mid-1970s notwithstanding, the Afghan Air Force remained relatively small until after the 1979–80 Soviet intervention in Afghanistan.

The Afghan Air Force was at its strongest in the 1980s, producing some concern on the part of neighbouring countries. The air force had around 20,000 personnel plus 5,000 foreign advisors in 1986. At its peak, it had at least 240 fixed-wing fighters, fighter-bombers and light bombers.

The Afghan Air Force probably operated some 40 or more transports, including the Antonov An-26, Antonov An-24, and Antonov An-2.[4] Two estimates, one from Mark Urban and one from the CIA, paint a more detailed picture of the Afghan Air Force:[5][1]

  • 232nd Air Regiment, Kabul Airport, three helicopter squadrons with Mi-4, Mi-6, and Mi-8 with one squadron of Mi-8s detached to Shindand
  • 321st Air Regiment, Bagram Air Base, three fighter/bomber squadrons with Su-7/Su-22
  • 322nd Air Regiment, Bagram Air Base, three fighter squadrons with 40 MiG-21s
  • 373rd Fixed-Wing Transport Regiment
  • 375th Independent Helicopter Battalion, Shindand Airfield
  • 379th Independent Helicopter Battalion, Kandahar Airfield
  • 393rd Air Regiment, Dehdadi Air Base (Balkh), three fighter/bomber squadrons with MiG-17s
  • 355th Fighter Bomber Regiment, Shindand Airbase, 3 bomber squadrons with Il-28s and one fighter/bomber squadron with MiG-17s
  • 366th Fighter Wing, Kandahar Airfield
  • 376th Independent Helicopter Battalion, Herat Airfield, two Mi-8 helicopters
  • 377th Helicopter Regiment, Kabul Airport, four helicopter squadrons with Mi-25s and Mi-17s
  • ? Air Regiment, Kabul Airport, two transport squadrons with An-2, An-26/30, and one VIP transport squadron with one Il-18 and 12 An-14s
  • Two attack helicopter squadrons with Mi-24s at Jalalabad and Kabul
  • Air Force Academy, Kabul, with Yak-18s and L-39s
  • Air Defence Forces consisting of two SAM regiments at Kabul, an AAA Battalion at Kandahar, and a radar regiment at Kabul

Beginning in 1986, the US supplied the mujahideen with its state-of-the-art heat-seeking missile, the FIM-92 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.[6][7]

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.[6]

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 Force splintered, breaking up amongst the different mujahideen factions in the ongoing civil war. By the end of the 1990s, the Taliban maintained five supersonic MiG-21MF and 10 Sukhoi Su-22 fighter-bombers.[8] They also held six Mil Mi-8 helicopters, five Mi-35s, five L-39Cs, six An-12s, 25 An-26s, a dozen An-24/32s, an IL-18, and a Yakovlev.[9] 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.

Aircraft and Personnel

On February 1, 1986, the staffing of military equipment and personnel of the Air Force and Air Defence was:[10]

  • Personnel - 19,400 people
  • Aircraft - 226, of which 217 (96%) were combat-ready
  • helicopters - 89, of which 62 are combat-ready

Midway through the Soviet–Afghan War, one estimate listed the following inventory:

Losses

From the Saur Revolution until the Fall of Kabul in April of 1992, the Afghan Air Force lost 617 aircraft and 651 crew members. Many were shot down by American Stinger missiles provided to the Mujahideen through Operation Cyclone.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b CIA 1986.
  2. ^ Cooper, Tom (29 October 2003). "Afghanistan, 1979–2001; Part 1". Air Combat Information Group. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012.
  3. ^ Poteri1979 Потери ВВС в Афганистане. Потери 1979 года. Авиация в локальных конфликтах. Дата обращения 23 февраля 2015.
  4. ^ Stalder, Keith J. (25 January 1985). "The Air War in Afghanistan". Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  5. ^ a b Urban 1988, pp. 225–226.
  6. ^ a b Yousaf & Adkin 1992, p. 174–80.
  7. ^ "The Air War In Afghanistan". www.globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017.
  8. ^ York, Geoffrey. The Globe and Mail, "Military Targets Are Elusive. Afghanistan Army Called a Haphazard Operation", 19 September 2001.
  9. ^ Jane's Sentinel Security Assessment, 2001
  10. ^ Nikitenko 2004, pp. 130–134.
  11. ^ Flight Magazine 1990 or The Encyclopaedia of World Air Forces
  12. ^ Flight Magazine or The Encyclopaedia of World Air Forces
  13. ^ Orbis Publishing Ltd, 'Sukhoi Su-7 'Fitter' – Soviet Sledgehammer, 'Warplane, Vol. 2, Issue 21, p.413. More accurate information will be found in Gordon, Yefim (2004). Sukhoi Su-7/-17/-20-22: Soviet Fighter and Fighter-Bomber Family. Hinckley, UK: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-108-3.
  14. ^ Müller 2020, p. 10.
  15. ^ Goebel, Greg. "Ilyushin Il-28 'Beagle'." Air Vectors. Retrieved: 22 August 2011.
  16. ^ "Afghanistan (AFG), World Air Forces - Historical Listings." Archived 2007-01-15 at the Wayback Machine worldairforces.com. Retrieved: 22 August 2011.
  17. ^ Müller 2020, p. 11.
  • CIA (May 1986). "The Afghan Air Force: New Planes, Old Problems, Little Impact" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency.
  • Müller, Lukas (2020). Wings over the Hindu Kush: Air Forces, Aircraft and Air Warfare of Afghanistan, 1989-2001. Helion and Company. ISBN 978-1913118662.
  • Nikitenko, E.G. (2004). Афганистан: От войны 80-х до прогноза новых войн [Afghanistan: From the war of the 80s to the forecast of new wars] (10,000 copies ed.). Balashikha: Astrel (ru:Астрель). ISBN 5-271-07363-7 – via под ред. Захаровой Л.(Никитенко Е. Г.)
  • Urban, Mark (1988). War in Afghanistan. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-0-333-43263-1.
  • Yousaf, Mohammad & Adkin, Mark (1992). Afghanistan, the bear trap: the defeat of a superpower. Havertown, Penn.: Casemate. ISBN 978-0-9711709-2-6.
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