DTN News: U.S. DoD Awarded Contract To Cessna Aircraft Co., For Maintenance and Training of Afghan Air Force C-208 Aircrafts

DTN News: U.S. DoD Awarded Contract To Cessna Aircraft Co., For Maintenance and Training of Afghan Air Force C-208 Aircrafts

Source: K. V. Seth - DTN News + U.S. DoD issued No. CR-013-16 January 21, 2016
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 22, 2016: Cessna Aircraft Co., Wichita, Kansas, has been awarded a $55,268,755 firm-fixed-price contract for the Afghanistan Trainer Program. 

Contractor will provide interim contractor support of 18 C-208 B aircraft and one C-208 aircrew training device, including maintenance and training. Work will be performed at Kabul Air Base and Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan, and is expected to be complete by July 31, 2017. 

This contract is 100 percent foreign military sales to the country of Afghanistan. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. 

Fiscal 2015 Afghanistan Security Forces funds in the amount of $18,251,442 are being obligated at the time of award. 


Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8617-16-C-6208).

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth - DTN News + U.S. DoD issued No. CR-013-16 January 21, 2016 
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DTN News - AFGHAN WAR: Afghan Air Force Develops Loadmasters as C-27 Fleet Expands

DTN News - AFGHAN WAR: Afghan Air Force Develops Loadmasters as C-27 Fleet Expands

Source: DTN News - - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources - ISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan 2011-02-D-175

(NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - February 23, 2011: As the Afghan Air Force C-27A Spartan fleet grows, now half way to its goal of twenty, so does the need for qualified loadmasters.

Responsible for the cargo, personnel and safety of the aircraft, the loadmaster backs up the pilot on everything behind the flight deck, contributing to the full-crew concept of flight operations and setting the stage for mission accomplishment. “While pilots fly the aircraft, the loadmasters fulfill the C-27s function as an air-mobility mover,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Chris Neufeld, a NATO C-27 loadmaster advisor. Because of the importance of loadmasters to mission success, Neufeld and other advisors work hard to develop the Afghan Air Force loadmaster corps at the Afghan Air Force Base here through classroom training and practical exercises. Beneficial as class-work and practice can be, Neufeld believes there is no greater training platform than performing the job of a loadmaster in a real-world scenario. “They are coming along great,” Neufeld said. “All of the responsibilities a C-27 loadmaster has is a lot to ask for from any professional. The progress and dedication of the Afghan airmen is incredible.” “We are learning how to be proper loadmasters to improve our career field and serve our country,” Khan said. “We are going to take what we learn and teach it to others who come after us. Right now, we are learning all that we can from our instructors so that in the future we can have Afghans teaching Afghans and help the Afghan Air Force become an independent force.” Gukbahar feels qualified loadmasters capable of bringing the C-27 to its full mission potential provide his country and its people with a sense of protection. “An army without a proper air force looks weak, and you need skilled professionals to make a proper air force. The air force not only helps project power, but also provides security to the people with its ability to reach anyone in the country and provide them with support,” he said.

**Link to....

- - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources - ISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan 2011-02-D-175

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DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY November 15, 2010 - Five Females Seeking To Fly For Afghan Air Force

DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY November 15, 2010 - Five Females Seeking To Fly For Afghan Air Force

This is the second in a series of stories by our special correspondent about military

aviation issues linked to the war in Afghanistan. Read also the growing pains of the Afghan air force and about the U.S. Air Force's transporter dilemma. Sharon Weinberger Contributor

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Sharon Weinberger, AOL News

(NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - November 15, 2010: Masooma Hussaini's path to becoming one of the Aghan air force's first female military pilot candidates began with a TV advertisement encouraging young women to join.

She registered to take the exams for officer candidate school. Just a few months later, she was selected for a new pilot training program. The idea of female military pilots -- some of the most coveted military positions -- would have been unthinkable in Afghanistan just a decade ago, when the Taliban had relegated women to the bottom of the social scale, with no access to education, let alone jobs. But now Hussaini, 19, and four of her female colleagues, have broken yet another barrier: They are second lieutenants in the Afghan air force, on a path to becoming the first newly trained female pilots since the fall of the Taliban.

Sharon Weinberger, AOL News

Afghan air force recruit Masooma Hussaini, left, and another recruit are breaking down barriers in a male-dominated society.

The five women are studying with more than a dozen men at the Thunder Lab, a recently opened English-language and cultural-immersion center for pilot candidates in Kabul. Here, they study English, which is now a requirement for all pilots.

The only modification to the women's uniforms are black scarves covering their hair. Most of the women, like Hussaini, joined after seeing TV advertisements, but they also typically had support -- and even encouragement -- from their family. Khetera Ayoub Pur, another second lieutenant, rattles off the names of family members who have served in the military. For her, joining the military was a family tradition and a matter of national pride. The women, who are still a novelty at the base, will not be Afghan air force's first female pilots, however. There is one female pilot, who was trained before the Taliban regime came to power. But the young women are still very much an anomaly, and, if they do become pilots, they will face two divides: gender and age. The average Afghan military pilot is his mid- to late 40s, and typically trained somewhere in the former Soviet Union. The female pilot candidates -- most of whom are still teenagers -- will be Western-trained and decades younger than many of their counterparts.

Sharon Weinberger, AOL News

The five new female Afghan pilot candidates pose with their male colleagues.

That age gap -- perhaps as much as the gender divide -- could prove tough for the women. "There's a little bit of baggage" with the older pilots, said Col. Creig Rice, the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing vice commander. "With these young guys, it's not a problem." But Rice also credits the Afghan air force commander, Mohammad Dawran, with helping to bring the women into the training program for pilots. "He's a pretty progressive guy," he said. Integrating women into the training curriculum was planned out ahead of time, said U.S. Air Force Capt. Stacey Monaghan, who works closely with the female trainees. The U.S. and other NATO member advisers looked at everything from classroom seating to eating arrangements, she said. In the end, all elements of the training were integrated, even physical training. The only strict physical separation is for living quarters -- the main building houses both the classrooms and the men's dorm rooms; the women live in a building next door. Because there are no physical barriers between the men's rooms and the classroom, silver tape on the floor denotes where the women aren't supposed to go. Likewise, the male officers don't enter the women's living area or even come to close it, according to Lt. Col. John Howard, the head adviser at the Thunder Lab. A joke among the other advisers, Howard said, is that if there were a fire, the men would shout to their female colleagues from the bottom of the building, "Please, please come out." That sort of integration -- professional, but not necessarily personal -- was on display as the female candidates sat in a circle with their male colleagues: The women sat together in a group of three and two, and in a group photo lined up next to each other. The women have only been at the Thunder Lab for two weeks, but in the most critical area of their current training -- learning English -- the women are already besting many of the men. "The women scored better than half the guys," Howard said. In fact, Hassaini's score was high enough to qualify her to go the United States for additional training immediately, Johnson said. But she --- and the other students –- still need cultural training before they depart. Once they do go to the United States, they may spend up to two years there getting additional English language training and then pilot instruction.

Most of the female students are just 19, young by comparison to their Western counterparts, but not for Afghanistan, where the average age of marriage for women is 17.8 years, according the U.N. Development Fund for Women. When asked if they want to get married, Hussaini and her colleagues, who are all single, are adamant: "No, no," they said in unison. Later, they said that they would eventually like to have families, just not now. That, however, raises another question: What role will the female recruits eventually have in a society that expects women their age to already be married and having children? (About half of their male colleagues at the Thunder Lab are married.) Nobody, least of all the American advisers, has a good answer. "It's going to be an experiment," Monaghan said.

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DTN News: Alenia Rolls Out First Modernized G.222 For Afghanistan

DTN News: Alenia Rolls Out First Modernized G.222 For Afghanistan *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - July 4, 2009: Alenia Aeronautica held a ceremony at its Capodichino (Naples) location for the roll-out of the first G.222 aircraft, ordered by the United States Air Force (USAF), to be restored to airworthiness, and modernized with new systems and avionics. Afghanistan ~ Eighteen G.222 aircrafts to be donated by the US from the Italian Air Force inventory. Deliveries to begin in September 2009 In September 2008, Alenia North America (a company wholly owned by Alenia Aeronautica) was awarded a contract by the U.S. Air Force, valued at $287 million, to provide 18 refurbished G.222 tactical transport aircraft that will be transferred by the Combined Security Transition Command in Kabul to the reconstructed Afghan Air Force, the Afghan National Army Air Corps (ANAAC). The first flight of the upgraded G.222 aircraft is anticipated for the end of next month and delivery of the aircraft will begin in September 2009. The 18 G.222, which include two versions configured for VIP transport, belong to different production groups that range from 1977 to 1985 and meet different production standards. All of the aircraft will be modernized with the configuration of systems and avionics, new autopilot systems and ballistic protection, in addition to necessary maintenance, modifications and modernization. Giovanni Bertolone, CEO of Alenia Aeronautica, commented, “This day represents a significant stage in the sphere of a very important contract signed by Alenia North America, as prime contractor, with the American Government in September 2008; confirming the continued vitality of the program, after years of operating service with the Italian Air Force (AMI). The capacity of tactical transport, the operational validity and the superior qualification of the aircraft to complete complex missions, for which it was designed, have been further exalted by the C-27J program, the actual leader in the market segment. The Afghan G.222 will be required to operate in difficult scenarios, in conditions of extreme altitude and temperature.” Giuseppe Giordo, CEO of Alenia North America said, “Alenia Aeronautica, with Alenia North America and Finmeccanica, has demonstrated again that it can offer products to the United States that meet the rigid and specific requirements outlined by the American Government, always on time and on budget in accordance with the requirements of the client. These 18 G.222 aircraft will give the reconstructed Afghan Air Force a great advantage in terms of the security and the stability of the region.” The G.222, in service until 2005 with the Italian Air Force (AMI) and used also by the United States Air Force in the 1990s under the name C-27A, is a twin-engine, tactical transport, turboprop aircraft. Developed as a true military airlifter, the G.222 is dependable, robust, and capable of taking off in almost any operating condition, even from short and unprepared airstrips. The G.222 is still in operation with a large number of air forces around the world, including: the Nigerian Air Force, the Royal Thai Air Force, the Ejercito Argentino, the U.S. State Department, and the Italian Air Force (version VS, electronic warfare); thanks also to the efficiency of the logistical support provided by Alenia Aeronautica. Alenia North America is a subsidiary of Alenia Aeronautica and part of the Finmeccanica Group. Its mission is to further expand the industrial and commercial presence of the Alenia Group in North America. Alenia North America Inc. is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices in Seattle, Washington; Long Beach, California; Fort Worth, Texas; and Smyrna, Georgia. Alenia North America - Canada, a subsidiary wholly owned by Alenia North America, has offices in Ottawa, Canada. Alenia North America is also a shareholder in several joint venture companies located in the United States. Global Aeronautica, a joint venture with The Boeing Company, located in North Charleston, South Carolina, performs significant integration and sub-assembly work for the Boeing 787 program. Global Military Aircraft Systems (GMAS), a joint venture with L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, is a center of excellence to support the C-27J in North America. GMAS is headquartered in Madison, Mississippi. Alenia North America has recently announced its intent to establish a new final assembly and production facility for the C-27J in Jacksonville, Florida. The C-27J is the world leader in the twin engine military tactical aircraft market with 121 units sold worldwide.