Islamabad: Four Mi-17 helicopters were
on Wednesday delivered back to the Pakistan Army by the US after
being overhauled at an American facility.
The overhaul programme provides critical support to
the Pakistan Army by expediting maintenance and returning
urgently needed aircraft for flight operations, the US embassy
said in a statement.
The US has funded maintenance overhauls for 24
Pakistan Army Mi-17s, twelve of which were completed and
returned to Pakistan last year.
The remaining eight helicopters are scheduled for
delivery later this year.
The US is coordinating with the Pakistan Army to fund
overhauls for another ten Mi-17s, and recently delivered to
them two Bell 412 helicopters.
Another 13 Cobra gunship helicopters have been
procured for use as spare parts to further enhance the
Pakistan Army`s aviation operations.
Since 2001, the US has provided more than USD 12
billion to Pakistan in security assistance, training and
equipment, which includes USD 8.1 billion reimbursed from the
Coalition Support Fund.
Other security assistance delivered to Pakistan has
included three F-16 Block 52 fighter aircraft to the Pakistan
Air Force, an additional 14 F-16 fighter aircraft delivered to
the PAF in 2008, five fast patrol boats to the Maritime
Security Agency, two P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft
delivered to the Pakistan Navy, 115 M109A5 Howitzer
self-propelled field artillery cannons and more than 450
vehicles for Pakistan`s Frontier Corps.
PTI
