U.S. and Russia to supply Afghans with helicopters
Jeremy Hobson: Well it would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, but the Pentagon has signed a contract to buy Russian helicopters. The choppers were designed specifically for the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, as Peter van Dyk reports from Moscow.
Peter van Dyk: The deal for 21 helicopters for the Afghan Army is worth $375 million. Although there was opposition from both the U.S. defense sector and Congress, the deal is a no-brainer for Russia.
Military expert Alexander Golts, the deputy editor of the Yezhednevniyi Zhurnal online newspaper, says Afghan pilots already know the Mi-17 helicopters.
Alexander Golts: It’s much easier to deal with them than with American or Italian helicopters or with any other.
But the clincher? The price: Russian helicopters are cheaper than U.S. or European rivals.
Golts: It’s a good deal for the Pentagon, and for Russia as well I think.
Certainly, Russia is happy — a top Kremlin aide says so. And although U.S. soldiers aren’t going to be firing Kalashnikovs or flying MiG fighters anytime soon, Golts says Washington’s need to re-equip its new allies in Afghanistan and Iraq mean there could be more such deals in the future.
In Moscow, I’m Peter van Dyk for Marketplace.
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