As the president of the only private commercial airline in Afghanistan, I have watched the growth of the Afghan National Air Force over the last 12 years. The results have been impressive-and yet strangely disappointing from the Afghan and American perspectives.In 2009, the country's air force consisted of a few Russian Mil Mi-17 helicopters and a handful of other aircraft flown and maintained by Afghans. The delivery of four new Mi-17s that year was the first real demonstration of the U.S. commitment to build more capability. The scale of the U.S. investment since has been staggering. Even as the Mi-17 fleet grew to more than 80 aircraft, the U.S. military kept adding additional platforms. First came the Alenia C-27 transport aircraft, then light MD-530 helicopters, Cessna 208s, Pilatus PC-12s, Embraer A-29 Super Tucanos, Lockheed Martin C-130 transport aircraft and medium-lift Sikorsky UH-60 helicopters. In all, the U.S. spent more than $8 billion on the Afghan National Air Force.
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