Under the mentorship of US and NATO air advisors, members of the Afghan air force’s Kandahar Air Wing recently completed their first 200-hour maintenance phase inspection on an Mi-17 helicopter, achieving another milestone in the fledgling Afghan air arm’s maturation. In addition to conducting the 200-hour inspection, the KAW maintainers replaced worn-out parts on both of the helicopter’s engines, the main gearbox, tail rotor blades, gearbox, and tail rotor chain, according to advisors with NATO Air Training Command-Afghanistan. A three-person Afghan training team also came in from Kabul to Kandahar Air Base to oversee their colleagues. Previously, the KAW had to send its Mi-17s to Kabul for these inspections. Gaining the ability to conduct them in-house will improve the wing’s aircraft availability by two days per inspection. In October, the wing received certification to conduct 100-hour inspections. (Kandahar report by MC2 Vladimir Potapenko) (See also AFPS report by Terri Moon Cronk)
Details Murky as ARRW Falls Short in Second Test
March 24, 2023
The second all-up flight of the AGM-183A ARRW hypersonic missile apparently fell short of expectations, but the AIr Force isn't saying how, reporting only that the test met "several of the objectives" of the test. Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control recently said he company is "ready to go" to…