US Provides 3 Refurbished Military Helicopters To Afghanistan - Defense Secretary

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st July, 2021) The United States has delivered three refurbished military helicopters to Afghanistan and such assistance will continue in the future, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

"We have begun provision of the aircraft that mentioned to you earlier that we are going to provide. On Friday, three newly refurbished UH-60s landed in Kabul and they will continue to see a steady drum beat of that kind of support going forward," Austin said.

Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby said earlier that the United States will beef up the Afghanistan Air Force with 37 Black Hawk helicopters and help refurbish a large part of its fleet of Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters.

The United States will also provide the Afghan armed forces three more Super Tucano strike airplanes thereby increasing their military edge over the Taliban forces, Kirby added.

Afghanistan is seeing increased violence as foreign troops are gradually withdrawing from the country. The pullout, scheduled to be completed by September, was one of the points of agreement that the Taliban and the United States reached in Doha last year.