AAF C-27A at Kabul Intl Airport The sixteen C-27A airlifters bought by US government for Afghan Air Force has been scrapped for pennies r...
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| AAF C-27A at Kabul Intl Airport |
U.S. Defense Department paid $486 million for twenty C-27A/G222 airplanes, of which 16 were sold as scrap to an Afghan construction company by Defense Logistics Agency.
The company paid approximately 6 cents a pound for the scrapped planes, which came to a total of $32,000.
The Aeritalia G222 fleet were parked unused on a tarmac at Kabul International Airport since they stopped flying in March 2013, after experiencing continuous and severe operational difficulties, including a lack of spare parts, maintenance and performance problems.
The other four planes are stored at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
John F. Sopko, SIGAR will now review the G222 program which failed to meet the operational requirements in Afghanistan. SIGAR has written to Deborah L. James Secretary of the Air Force, requesting all the documentation related to the decision to scrap the planes in a letter dated Oct 3.
The fleet of 20 G222s acquired were 30-year old Ex-Italian Air Force fleet that had been stored at Pisa, Italy. The contract saw upgrade and refurbish of 18 G.222s for tactical airlifting roles and the other two configured for VIP transport duties.
However, Afghan Air Force was never comfortable with the aircraft and preferred their Antonov An-26s and An-32s. Along with this, the persistent grounding of the aircraft meant the C-27A’s reputation with the leadership never improved.
The C-27A is a twin turboprop-engine tactical military transport aircraft, designed for transporting equipment or troops in combat zones and operating with minimal ground support. The G.222's cargo deck can carry up to 9,000 kg (19,840 lb) of cargo or up to 53 troops.
The aircraft is succeeded by the Alenia Aeramachi C-27J Spartan airlifter.
