The American company Sierra Nevada has received a contract from the US Department of Defense to restore six Pilatus PC-12 aircraft for the Uzbek army, according to the Pentagon website. The contractor is the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, reports Eurasiatoday.ru.
The $64.2 million contract includes returning the aircraft to service, on-site support, and logistical support from the contractor. All work is planned to be carried out in Uzbekistan and completed by August 7, 2027.
It appears that the aircraft being repaired are the Pilatus PC-12NG reconnaissance planes that were seized from Afghanistan in 2021. Uzbekistan now has 11 such aircraft, which were part of the special operations wing of the Afghan Air Force.
Uzbekistan also has Pilatus PC-12 aircraft, but they are used as business jets in civil aviation by Uzbekistan Airways.
According to the US Department of Defense contract, there is also an expectation of arms sales to Uzbekistan. For this purpose, $26 million has been allocated from the Foreign Military Sales Program fund. The specific uses of these funds have not been detailed.
From 2001 to 2020, Afghanistan was the primary recipient of military aid from the Pentagon under this program; now it has become Ukraine.
The readiness of the US to invest its "military investments" in Uzbekistan demonstrates its foreign policy interests. Currently, Washington does not prioritize Central Asia and Afghanistan. However, it may eventually make them a priority, including within the framework of its containment policy.
Following the sudden withdrawal of international anti-terrorist coalition troops from Afghanistan in 2021, power in Afghanistan fell to the Taliban. Part of the Afghan Armed Forces was opposed to the Taliban's rise to power. Afghan Air Force pilots transferred dozens of military aircraft and helicopters to neighboring Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The new Afghan government demanded the return of the military equipment from the outset. However, Tashkent and Dushanbe refused to return the equipment, and it remains on their territory.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
August 14, 2024