Protectionism? US May Replace Russian Mi-17s for Afghanistan by Own Black Hawks

© US Army / 1st Lt. Veronica AguilaAfghan Border Police members and Kandahar Air Wing pilots offload humanitarian aid from an Afghan Air Force Mi-17 helicopter
Afghan Border Police members and Kandahar Air Wing pilots offload humanitarian aid from an Afghan Air Force Mi-17 helicopter - Sputnik International
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Senator Richard Blumenthal called for delivering US helicopters instead of Russian ones to Afghanistan.

Mi-8, Mi-24 helicopters in flight  near Kabul, Afghanistan (File) - Sputnik International
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) — US Department of Defense plans to stop buying Russia-made helicopters for the needs of the Afghan army switching to the US-manufactured Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks, Senator Richard Blumenthal said in a statement.

"After efforts by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the Department of Defense (DoD) is seeking to end its reliance on Russian-made helicopters to support the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). DoD plans to transition to Connecticut-made Black Hawk helicopters," the statement issued by his press service on Friday read.

Russia has delivered 63 Mi-17 helicopters to Afghanistan since 2001 when its state arms exporter Rosoboronexport and the US Department of Defense signed the relevant contract.

"Millions of American dollars should never have gone to Russia for Mi-17 helicopters instead of Sikorsky Blackhawks — a travesty that will now be stopped,” Blumenthal said as quoted in the statement.

In 2014, Washington imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia on the pretext of the crisis in Ukraine, but the restrictive measures did not affect the delivery of Russian helicopters to Afghanistan under existing contracts. Russia also supplies spare parts for helicopters to the Afghan army and provides training for specialists on helicopter maintenance.

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