US buys Afghanistan “Eliminator” attack planes—Cessnas with Hellfires

The US armed forces has fought the Taliban in Afghanistan for sixteen years now, and usually has carried out so from the skies with Hellfire strikes by Predator and Reaper drones. Now the US is making an strive to get the Afghan armed forces one thing with the identical form of sensors, loitering time and firepower—except humans will wish to sit down in their cockpits.

The US Air Power has inked a fresh deal with aerospace and defense firm Orbital ATK to offer seven AC-208 Eliminator attack and reconnaissance aircraft. The Eliminator is a militarized model of the Cessna 208 Caravan, the aircraft used by the FBI and diverse contractors to hover aerial surveillance in the US—including flights over Baltimore in 2015 after the death of Freddy Grey in police custody.

The contract for the Eliminators used to be firstly issued final September, and piece of the $86 million is coming out of fiscal-year 2017 funds. The fashioned sole-provide contract used to be for $sixty 9.four million, but used to be expanded in the award made this past week.

Like the surveillance planes flown by the FBI, the AC-208s carry electro-optical and infrared cameras for surveillance. Unlike the civilian surveillance planes, the Eliminators’ sensors possess integrated laser designators for focused on weapons: four Hellfire missiles and two 70mm rocket pods, as well to ballistic panels to give protection to the crew and equipment from tiny palms fire, a missile warning plan and missile countermeasures.

Eliminators possess already seen service with the Iraqi Air Power and Afghanistan, and will doubtless be half of the 20 Generous Tucano attack planes the US has offered the Afghan Air Power. Six more Generous Tucanos are soundless on tell.

The two kinds of turboprop-powered attack aircraft are supposed to create it more uncomplicated for the Afghan armed forces to notify pilots and protect aircraft. There might be already some familiarity with the Cessna 208 Caravan airframe in the Afghan air power—the service currently owns 24 of them to be used as transport and utility aircraft.

Aside from four C-A hundred thirty transports, a Boeing 727 used for VIP transport, and 18 Pilatus PC-12 turboprop transports used mainly in purple meat up of particular operations items, the remaining of the Afghan Air Power consists largely of helicopters—Russian Mi-17 utility and Mi-24 attack helicopters, McDonnell Douglas MD 500 Defender light attack helicopters, about a Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawks and 10 Bell UH-1 Hueys. The Afghans also possess three HAL Cheetal helicopters from India.