US delivers C-130 cargo planes to Afghanistan

Afghanistan air force on Wednesday took delivery of its first two C-130 cargo planes in a boost for the country’s military capability as the NATO coalition starts to withdraw. The C-130 planes, given by the United States, will be used to airlift troops and supplies across Afghanistan as national security forces take on the battle against the Taliban. The AAF currently has a fleet of about 45 helicopters and some small aircraft to tackle the tough Islamist insurgency and to evacuate the growing number of Afghan casualties from the battlefield. The C-130 planes will be flown by both Afghan and NATO pilots for the first two years until training of AAF pilots is complete. “These aircrafts have been successfully used in Afghanistan by our NATO allies, we know they will help us a lot,” defense minister Bismillah Mohammadi said at a ceremony at Kabul airport. Two other C-130s are due to be delivered by the U.S. next year.