Russian Guns Bolster Afghan Artillery

Picatinny Arsenal is helping the Afghan National Army develop their indirect fire capability to bolster self-defense.

Picatinny, in conjunction with the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, will support the acquisition of 194 D30, 122mm Howitzers for the Afghan National Army.

In addition to supporting the acquisition of the howitzers, the Program Executive Office Ammunition, or PEO Ammo, has also helped establish a training and mentoring program at the Central Work Shop in Kabul, Afghanistan. At the CWS, mentors/instructors are teaching an Afghan work force how to properly overhaul, repair and maintain the weapons.

Soldiers Survive IED Strike Thanks to Scimitar

Soldiers from 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards have survived a strike by a large improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan while driving in their upgraded Scimitar Mk2 vehicle.

The three soldiers of the Welsh Cavalry were on a routine patrol in Nahr-e Saraj when their Scimitar Mk2 was engulfed in an explosion. All three soldiers walked away from the incident unharmed.

Vehicle commander Lieutenant Peter Gordon-Finlayson said the explosion stunned the crew for a few moments before their training took over, adding:

Afghan Air Force Nears 50% of Planned Size

Afghanistan’s military retains the vestiges of a modern air force, and its skilled and eager airmen have NATO trainers encouraged as they build up the force, the commander of NATO Air Training Command Afghanistan said today.

The Afghanistan air force has about 5,000 of its 8,000-member goal, and 66 of 145 aircraft NATO plans to provide it, U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Timothy Ray said during a meeting with reporters at the State Department’s Foreign Press Center here.

“Back in the 1970s and ’80s, they actually had a very modern air force,” Ray said. The force had mostly Russian-made aircraft, which were new then, but either were lost in later combat or weren’t maintained after the country fell to the Taliban, he said.

Russia, U.S. to set up Mi-17 repairs center in Afghanistan

Russia and the United States will set up a maintenance center for Mil Mi-17 helicopters bought by Washington for the Afghan armed forces, Deputy Director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Vyacheslav Dzirkaln said on Thursday.

The United States signed a contract on the purchase of 21 Mi-17V5 military transport helicopters from Russia for $367.5 million on May 26.

"We have agreed that this [Mi-17] joint project with the U.S. will encompass this kind of facility on the territory of Afghanistan because the transportation of helicopters to Europe for repairs would be too expensive," Dzirkaln said.

Australia Deploys C-RAM Radar to Afghanistan

Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare today announced that a new Counter Rocket Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM) Sense and Warn system has been delivered and is currently in operation at the multinational base Tarin Kowt in Uruzgan Province in Afghanistan.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith said the new system provides early detection of attacks from enemy rockets, artillery and mortars and replaces the previous capability provided by the Singaporean Armed Forces. Delivery of the C-RAM follows on from Australia assuming responsibility for early detection against rocket, artillery and mortar attacks at the base from 28 December 2010.

“The early warning provided by the C-RAM system greatly enhances the survivability of Australian and other ISAF forces from these attacks, providing increased warning of an imminent attack to enable them to take appropriate shelter”.

Marine tanks prepare for their first missions in Afghanistan

Early versions of the tank shaped the battlefields of World War I, and more sophisticated versions helped quickly end the Gulf War for the U.S. Now tanks have landed in Afghanistan to help bring security to Helmand province.

Marines with Delta Company, 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division (Forward), began preparing for upcoming missions by sighting-in the main cannon and machine guns on their M1A1 Abrams tanks during a firing range exercise at Camp Leatherneck, Jan. 13.

The tanks, which were flown here from Kuwait, are not the vehicles the Marines have trained with and some preparation must be done before they are ready for combat, said Capt. Daniel Hughes, commanding officer of Delta Co., 1st Tanks.

French VBCIs Support Operations in Tagab Valley

Since July 20, 2010, the VBCI (Véhicule Blindé de Combat de l’Infanterie, or armored infantry combat vehicle) is regularly deployed on operational missions of the French Army’s TFLF contingent (La Fayette Brigade).

Operation "Promising Star," a brigade-level operation which took place from 27 September to 5 October, was an opportunity for the VBCI to operate in the southern Tagab valley. The vehicle’s performance confirmed its versatility and operational flexibility on terrain on which it has not previously operated.

"Here the terrain is really suitable, not too brittle, the tracks are not too narrow, and the VBCI is an ideal vehicle for these conditions" says Sgt. Major G., a VBCI section chief in Battle Group Bison. "The protection for the 10 infantrymen on board the vehicle is reinforced thanks to its armor, which is thicker than on most wheeled personnel carriers, and its anti-rocket cage, which is a real plus in this environment. With the VBCI, I can drop off my men very close to the assigned objective, without putting them, or their mission, at very high risk.”

UK's New Protected Patrol Vehicle

Plans to provide troops in Afghanistan with a new generation of Light Protected Patrol Vehicle (LPPV) have passed an important milestone, the MOD announced today.

Force Protection Europe has been selected as the preferred bidder, meaning contract negotiations will now begin to provide an initial order of LPPVs through the Urgent Operational Requirements (UOR) process. The first vehicles are expected to be available to troops for training in 2011. The total number will be subject to negotiation and announced in due course.

The LPPV has been designed to provide unprecedented levels of blast protection for a vehicle of its size, and will be able to carry a crew of up to six people. It will add to the wide array of protected vehicles already being used on operations in Afghanistan, including Mastiff and Ridgeback.

Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology Peter Luff, said:

“Small, agile but highly protected, the LPPV is at the forefront of technology. It will offer troops unprecedented levels of blast protection for such a light vehicle, enabling them to carry out a wide range of tasks, whilst moving with ease through narrow alleyways or crossing bridges.

“It will be a valuable addition to the vehicles already available to Commanders in Afghanistan, and demonstrates the Government’s commitment to providing our troops with the very best equipment on the front line. I’m delighted to announce that negotiations can now begin to get these vehicles out to theatre as soon as possible.”

Chief of Defence Materiel, General Sir Kevin O’Donoghue, said:

“A great deal of work has been done to get the programme to this stage. When it comes to vehicle technology, it is clear from this competition that British engineering is leading the way. Both proposed solutions reflect the significant progress made in the development of a new generation of small yet highly protected vehicles. The LPPV will offer huge benefit to troops in Afghanistan, as well as being a valuable asset to the Armed Forces in the future.”

Force Protection Europe has confirmed that, subject to the satisfactory completion of contractual negotiations with MOD, all of the vehicles will be built and supported in the UK. It is estimated that around 750 jobs will be created or sustained in the UK as a result of this programme.

Afghanistan Forms Council to Pursue Peace Talks with Taliban

Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced Sept. 4 that he had set up a council to pursue peace talks with the Taliban, who have been waging an insurgency in Afghanistan for nine years.

The formation of the High Peace Council was "a significant step towards peace talks," a statement from Karzai's office said.

The move is one of the most significant steps Karzai has taken in his oft-stated efforts to open a dialogue with the Taliban leadership aimed at speeding an end to the long war.

Karzai's plan to create the High Peace Council was approved in June at a peace jirga in Kabul attended by community, tribal, religious and political leaders from across the country.

The council was mooted as a negotiating body, to be made up of representatives of a broad section of Afghan society, to talk peace with the Taliban, who have been waging war since their regime was toppled in late 2001.

Officials met Karzai at his palace Sept. 4 to finalize the list of members, who would include "jihadi leaders, influential figures and women," the statement said.

The complete list of members would be announced after the Eid holiday next week, it said.

Karzai's announcement had been expected some days ago, after he met last week with former mujahedeen leaders Burhanuddin Rabbani and Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, as well as officials, to discuss the make up of the council.

His spokesman Simak Herawi said last week that it would include "some [former] Taliban and Hizb-i-Islami members," a reference to a minor militant group led by former prime minister and mujahedeen leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

"This council will ... certainly be effective in decreasing the level of violence in Afghanistan," Herawi said.

Hekmatyar's Hizb-i-Islami is currently in a tenuous alliance with the Taliban, although both sides remain suspicious of each other.

Hekmatyar's power has waned over the years and he commands far fewer fighters than the Taliban. Nevertheless, the group is active across part of Afghanistan's northern and eastern provinces.

The Taliban have repeatedly spurned peace overtures, deriding Karzai's government as a puppet of the United States and saying they will not talk peace until all foreign forces have left the country.

The announcement comes as the insurgency escalates and the number of foreign troop casualties so far this year nears the 2009 toll of 485, with the deaths on Aug. 31 of five U.S. service members in two separate incidents.

The United States and NATO have about 140,000 troops in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban-led insurgency, most of them in the southern hotspots of Helmand and Kandahar provinces.

Afghanistan Now Has Forces, Resources, Petraeus Says

The forces are now in place to make major strides in Afghanistan, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus said here today.

Speaking at a press roundtable with reporters traveling with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Petraeus said all the surge forces are conducting operations. Also, the general said, all the organizations needed to train the Afghan security forces are in place.

Pentagon officials said the vast majority of the 30,000 additional troops President Barack Obama ordered to the country in December 2009 are in country, with just a few small units still en route.

“We have more than tripled the number of U.S. forces on the ground, NATO nations have contributed more forces as well and non-NATO nations as well,” Petraeus, the commander of the International Security Assistance Force, said. The number of nations participating in operations in Afghanistan has climbed to 49, he said, while the number of civilians on the ground has tripled.

The main efforts in Afghanistan are in Central Helmand and Kandahar, the general said. Marja – the scene of a Marine and Afghan offensive in February – is no longer a Taliban and narco-trafficking stronghold and Afghan civilians are returning to the area.

“The district center has been rebuilt, the schools re-opened, there is a base health clinic and a lot of other civil projects have been completed or launched,” Petraeus said. Last week, he said, the Afghan government conducted a voter registration drive in Marja that went very well.

However, “around the edges of the security bubble around central Helmand … the Taliban is fighting back,” Petraeus said. “It was a hugely important area to the Taliban. Our job is to increase the security bubble in Central Helmand.”

Kandahar, he said, is a deliberate campaign that was launched with a high tempo of special operations forces. Surrounding areas, such as Arghendaub north of the city, have been cleared. Areas to the west of Kandahar are being cleared by a brigade from the 101st Airborne Division.

In Regional Command-East, another 101st Brigade has moved in and has caused significant damage to the Haqqani network in Paktika and Khost, the general said.

In and around the capital of Kabul, Afghan forces have the security lead in five of the six districts in Kabul province, Petraeus said. Kabul has one-sixth of the population of the country.

Afghan security forces “are doing quite a good job,” the general said. “We want to expand that security bubble, too.”

In Regional Command-North, the Germans are rolling back Taliban infiltration of the area, paying particular attention to Kunduz.

Training the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police is a priority, Petraeus said, noting the development of professional and capable Afghan security forces is key to NATO being able to withdraw its troops safely. He said it is only recently that NATO and the U.S. efforts have been able to get the inputs right for training Afghan forces.

“There is a recruit-train-equip model for the police, and the army training generally has been pretty sound,” Petraeus said.

Afghan army and police training has benefitted from the increased emphasis on literacy training, the general said.

“It is a true, limiting factor in some areas,” Petraeus said of the literacy issue. “It’s pretty difficult to enforce a law you can’t read or to perform maintenance using a technical manual if you can’t read it.”

Petraeus said he was skeptical about the literacy program until he saw it in action. The Afghans have taken to the program, he said, noting many formerly illiterate soldiers and police can now read and write well enough to do their jobs.

The Afghan army is recruiting 82,000 more soldiers and the effort is ahead of the projections, the general said. There are, he acknowledged, persistent issues regarding leader development and officer and NCO shortages.

Petraeus said he has a good relationship with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. NATO and the Afghan government don’t agree on all things, he acknowledged, but noted their “convergence of ideas” is substantial and that the two work together very well.

“I think it is a relationship where there is candor, we do not always come at every issue from the same perspective, but I think that’s a reflection of the strength of the relationship rather than anything else,” the general said.

Petraeus said he believes that Karzai understands the need for better, more inclusive civil-military operations. Karzai also recognizes problems within his government, the general said, especially issues involving corruption. Appropriately, Petraeus said, the Afghan government is moving to arrest and prosecute its corrupt members.

Karzai “understands that the government has to earn legitimacy in the eyes of the people,” the general said. Improved security, he added, becomes “the foundation upon which you build governance and economic development. That government needs to be seen as serving the people.”

Karzai also recognizes the danger that safe havens inside neighboring Pakistan pose to Afghanistan and NATO, Petraeus said, noting the Afghan president is working to improve relations with Pakistan’s government.

Afghanistan’s president also is concerned about civilian casualties, Petraeus said, noting that Karzai constantly is at him to reduce inadvertent Afghan civilian losses. Petraeus noted that while the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan has increased three-fold, the number of civilian casualties caused by NATO forces has decreased. The Taliban, meanwhile, routinely target innocent Afghan civilians, he said.

Petraeus said he is getting ready to issue a new Commander’s Intent letter. In it, he said, he’ll stress to servicemembers the importance of gaining an understanding of Afghanistan’s social and cultural environment.

“We have never had the granular understanding of local circumstances in Afghanistan that we achieved over time in Iraq,” the general said.

In Iraq, Petraeus recalled, U.S. and coalition military commanders knew who the local tribal power brokers were, how the social systems were supposed to work and how they actually functioned.

“That enabled us enormously,” he said. “We are just completing the process of getting the inputs right here and now we have to employ those inputs.”

U.S. and NATO servicemembers and civilians serving in Afghanistan need to learn the local customs, tribal relationships, leaders and so on in their areas to be effective,

US deaths in Afghanistan hit record in 2010

The toll of US soldiers killed in the Afghan war this year is the highest since the conflict began, an AFP count found, as NATO said Wednesday it had killed two insurgents for every soldier lost last month.

Military leaders say the spike in deaths reflects the deployment of additional troops into the Afghan theatre, which leads to a higher number of battlefield engagements with Taliban-led insurgents.

A total of 324 US soldiers have been killed in the Afghan war 2010, compared with 317 for all of 2009, according to AFP figures based on the independent icasualties.org website.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) reported September's first death, another American, in an insurgent attack in the south.

Foreign forces suffered a rise in deaths last month as the Taliban insurgency intensified, with NATO confirming Wednesday that a sixth US soldier was killed on Tuesday in one of the bloodiest days this year.

At 491, the overall death toll for foreign troops for the first eight months of the year, including Wednesday's, is rapidly closing in on the 2009 figure, which at 521 was a record since the start of the war in late 2001.

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday warned that the United States faced a "very tough fight" in Afghanistan, with more deaths and "heartbreak" to come.

"We obviously still have a very tough fight in Afghanistan," Obama told troops in Texas as the United States marked the formal end of combat operations in Iraq.

"We have seen casualties go up because we are taking the fight to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. It is going to be a tough slog."
US General David Petraeus, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said Tuesday that deployments would reach full strength of 150,000 within days.

In recent months improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, the Taliban's weapon of choice, have become the biggest killers of foreign troops as the insurgents adapt their battlefield techniques to counter Western forces' heavier armour.

IEDs are easy and cheap to produce, often using ammonium nitrate fertiliser produced in Pakistan and trucked across the border into Afghanistan.

The bombs are difficult to detect, often buried by roadsides and remotely detonated to devastating effect.

A UN report in June noted an "alarming," 94 percent increase in IED incidents in the first four months of this year compared to 2009.

As the coalition ended August with 80 troops dead, NATO released figures showing that for each foreign soldier lost during the month two insurgents were killed.

In a statement, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said 160 insurgents were killed in operations in August, including 53 Taliban leaders and 23 members of the hardcore Haqqani network, which has ties to Al-Qaeda.

More than 500 insurgents were detained in that time, ISAF said.

"The leaders were associated with the facilitation of improvised explosives device attacks, suicide attacks, and the facilitation of foreign fighters against coalition and Afghan troops," it said.

The killed and captured figures came from 186 operations in August, it said, adding that 85 percent were "conducted without shots fired".

It is the first time ISAF has released such detailed figures, reflecting an intensified effort to counter Taliban propaganda on battlefield successes.

In all 1,271 American troops have lost their lives, out of 2,059 foreign military deaths, since the conflict began with the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, following the 9-11 attacks on New York and Washington in 2001.

In the latest incident ISAF confirmed a sixth US soldier died on Tuesday, killed in an insurgent attack in the Taliban's southern heartland.

This followed the previously announced deaths on Tuesday of another five US soldiers, four of them killed in a IED attack.

On Monday, eight NATO troops -- seven Americans and an Estonian -- were killed in bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan.
Twenty-six Americans have died since Friday.

Website icasualties.org constantly updates its figures as soldiers wounded in battle may die of their injuries after they have been evacuated from Afghanistan, sometimes days or weeks later.

A senior Afghan official was killed Wednesday and five others were injured in a Taliban-style bomb attack in the troubled southern city of Kandahar, authorities said

Denmark has turned down a NATO request to send F-16 fighters to Afghanistan

Denmark has turned down a NATO request to send F-16 fighters to Afghanistan as it believes it has done enough for the international military mission there, the foreign minister said Thursday.

"We are one of the countries that contributes the most to Afghanistan," Foreign Minister Lene Espersen told the media after a meeting of parliament's foreign affairs committee.

"This is why we rejected the NATO request" which was also made to other member countries, she said.

Espersen said the committee "has a strong desire to scale down (Denmark's military) engagement" in Afghanistan as the Danish defense budget was "under pressure" and the government "is under no obligation to do more" there.

Denmark "can be proud" of its role in Afghanistan, she said, adding that "it's up to other countries to play a role and meet (NATO's) demands".

The F-16 requested by NATO is a multi-role fighter aircraft that is seen as highly maneuverable.

Denmark has 750 troops in Afghanistan serving in the NATO-led ISAF force, mainly in the violence-torn Helmand province, and proportionally has suffered the heaviest losses of any ISAF nation with 34 combat deaths while two more soldiers died in other circumstances.

It hopes to withdraw all its combat troops from Afghanistan by 2015, Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen has said.

NATO including the United States has 141,000 troops in the country, with numbers set to peak at 150,000 in coming weeks as efforts escalate to quell the Taliban insurgency, which began after U.S.-led forces brought down their government for sheltering Al-Qaeda leaders following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Most of those deployed under a 30,000-strong troop surge ordered by U.S. President Barack Obama are heading to Kandahar and Helmand provinces in the south, though others are going north to reinforce small bases run by NATO allies.

France in Afghanistan 'As Long As Necessary'

President Nicolas Sarkozy declared on Aug. 25 that French forces will remain in Afghanistan for as long as they are needed there and enjoy the support of the Afghan people.

Two French soldiers were killed this week and Sarkozy faces mounting calls for France's 3,750 troops to begin withdrawing from a conflict that has cost 47 of them their lives and shows no sign of coming to an end.

"France will remain engaged in Afghanistan, with its allies, for as long as necessary and for as long as the Afghan people wish," he said, in his annual foreign policy address to France's ambassadors around the world.

"Our actions in the cause of peace can not be subject to artificial calendars and the mood of the media," he insisted.

France's contingent is part of the US-led NATO coalition army battling the Taliban and other rebel groups and training Afghan security forces to eventually take the lead.

U.S. President Barack Obama has said U.S. troop numbers will begin to come down from next year, but his commanders on the ground have cautioned that withdrawal will be slow and subject to conditions on the battlefield.

Jackal Vehicle Keeps Proving Its Worth in Afghanistan

When purchase of the latest batch of Jackal vehicles was announced at Defence Equipment & Support's Defence Vehicle Dynamics event in June 2010 it took the number of Jackal vehicles procured for UK forces to more than 500.

The announcement, by Defence Equipment, Support and Technology Minister Peter Luff, to procure another 140 of the 2A version of the weapons-mounted patrol vehicle at a cost of £45m was another vote of confidence in a vehicle which has enabled British patrols to keep in touch with the enemy, often in the toughest of Afghan terrain. Around 40 of the Jackal 2As are due to be delivered this month.

Jackal is the best known of the high mobility transporter vehicles delivered by Babcock over the last few years. The original contract to produce the vehicles was signed as an Urgent Operational Requirement in 2007. The contract has since delivered with huge success.

Jackal vehicles are produced by Babcock under an alliance with Supacat, the prime contractor and design authority. Supacat is responsible for design, development, prototyping, integration and programme management, while Babcock takes responsibility for detailed production planning, purchasing and manufacture at its Devonport factory.

Perfect partnership has been the key for the project co-ordinators at Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S). Alan Stephen, DE&S' high mobility transport vehicle project manager, said:
"The success of the Jackal programme has been grounded on a combined effort between the project team and industry, who have shown great will to achieve and the ability to take risk to continue delivery.

"My team is thoroughly committed to achieving the best solution for the soldier on the ground, as early as possible, as economically as possible.

"We can't rest on our laurels though, and are continually examining ways of making an excellent vehicle even better. Regular good communications direct with theatre and excellent backbriefs from returning brigades assist in identifying where we should be looking at improvements.

"Of course it does help motivation that it's a very well-liked vehicle which has delivered an important capability to Operation HERRICK."

The vehicles are built by a team of up to 130 Babcock employees working on the Devonport pulse production line, along with a smaller project management team of 25.

The pulse production line involves dividing the total manufacturing activity into a series of 12 equally balanced packages or 'cells', and the vehicle is physically moved, or 'pulsed', from one area assembly to the next on a daily basis.

Application of a 'lean' philosophy has identified and eliminated any non-value-adding activities, and serves to ensure that the demanding delivery schedules and critical quality and reliability requirements are met.

This is coupled with highly effective supply chain management to reduce lead times, ensure quality and reliability, manage obsolescence, and ultimately drive down the cost of construction and ownership. Production runs at a rate of one vehicle a day.
Babcock Land Systems Director, Chris Dunn, said:

"The Jackal vehicle has been a resounding success, having proved its versatility; combining speed and manoeuvrability with unparalleled cross-country performance over Afghanistan's harsh terrain.

"We are delighted to be working in alliance with Supacat to deliver these vehicles reliably and consistently within the shortest possible timescales.

"Further, we have established Babcock as a company that can be relied upon to deliver vehicles of exceptional quality at record pace and, being OEM [Original Equipment Manufacture] independent, we are also talking to other vehicle designers about building their vehicles for upcoming programmes in the UK and abroad."

Leaked reports confirm SAM launches against ISAF aircraft

Classified reports released by the web site Wikileaks - which have caused a furore in the United States - indicate that heat-seeking surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) have been used by insurgents against coalition forces in Afghanistan, a situation that operators in theatre had hitherto declined to confirm.

The US Department of Defense has yet to confirm the authenticity of the reports (more than 92,000 of them were leaked) and will not comment on the information until its assessments are complete.

Analysis of the documents - which are mostly tactical-level reports classified as 'secret' - reveal numerous incidents in which insurgent forces engaged International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) aircraft with man-portable air-defence systems (MANPADS).

ISAF forces to date have only sparingly acknowledged that MANPADS weapons are used against their aircraft in Afghanistan, but these anecdotal field reports appear to show this threat to be present there, if only occasionally effective.

Notably, one of the reports from May 2007 recounted an incident in which a CH-47D Chinook cargo helicopter was shot down by a suspected MANPADS - killing all on board - and two AH-64D Apache attack helicopters responding to the strike were also targeted by MANPADS missiles.

Dutch Troops To Leave Afghanistan

The Dutch troop deployment in Afghanistan, often held up as a model for other peace missions, ends after four years on Aug. 1 amid concerns about the void it will leave.

"We offer the majority of the population relatively safe living conditions and advancements in health care, education and trade," chief of defense Gen. Peter van Uhm, said of his troops' legacy in the southern Uruzgan province.

"We have achieved tangible results that the Netherlands can be proud of," he told a news conference July 28.

But the Taliban welcomed the Dutch withdrawal and urged other countries with troops in Afghanistan to follow suit.

"We want to wholeheartedly congratulate the citizens and government of the Netherlands for having the courage to take this independent decision," Qari Yusuf Ahmadii, described as the Taliban's spokesman for west and south Afghanistan, told the Dutch daily Volkskrant in an interview published July 29.

"We do not wish to negotiate with anybody about peace as long as foreign soldiers are in Afghanistan and our country is occupied."

Around 1,950 Dutch troops are deployed in Afghanistan, mainly in Uruzgan where opium production is high and the Taliban very active, under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

NATO had asked the Netherlands to extend the mission, which started in 2006 and has cost the lives of 24 soldiers, by a year to August 2011.

This sparked a political row that led to government collapsing in February and the end of the Dutch deployment.

The Dutch mission is known for its "3 D" approach of defense, development and diplomacy.

Since the start of its lead role in Uruzgan at a cost of some 1.4 billion euros ($1.8 billion) to the Dutch state, the number of NGOs doing development work in the province has risen from six to 50, according to a Dutch embassy document.

It states that 50,000 children are attending school in Uruzgan, four times as many as in 2002. A million fruit trees have been distributed to farmers to provide an alternative livelihood to poppy cultivation.

The Dutch are also helping to build a road between the province's two most populated towns, Chora and Tarin Kowt, in a bid to boost trade.

And it has trained 3,000 Afghan soldiers, who "are now able to independently carry out operations," according to Van Uhm.

"The work is not done," Rob de Wijk, director of The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, a policy think tank, told AFP. "One does not leave as one starts registering success."

Jan Kleian, president of the ACOM military union, said he had spoken to several soldiers on the ground, "and they are not happy to leave".

"They want to finish what they started; the mission is not completed," he said.

Added Wim van den Berg, president of the AFMP soldiers' federation: "This mission cannot be completed in just a few years. It takes 20 or 30 years to bring security to such a war-torn country."

As from Aug. 1, Dutch troops will be replaced by American, Australian, Slovak and Singaporian soldiers.

The Dutch mission has been described by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen as "the benchmark for others", and by U.S. President Obama as "one of the most outstanding" in Afghanistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has thanked the Netherlands "for the work that Dutch soldiers and development workers have done, and are still doing, in building the country".

A ministry spokeswoman says all Dutch ISAF troops will be back home by September while the hardware, including four F-16 fighter jets, will be repatriated by year-end.

The world fastest Lynx Helicopters Help Bring Fight to Taliban

After nearly two months of being operational in Afghanistan, the world's fastest helicopter, the Lynx Mark 9A, has proved to be a vital boost to the UK's battlefield capability.

The crews from the Army Air Corps that fly the aircraft say it has massively enhanced capability, as it is light and agile and perfect for the rapid deployment and extraction of small numbers of troops.

In comparison to their predecessors, the Lynx Mk9As have increased fire power, more powerful engines, and the ability to operate all year in the harsh 'hot and high' Afghan environment.

The helicopter, which is capable of lifting surprisingly heavy loads for its size, is currently flown in Afghanistan by 672 Squadron of the Army Air Corps. Deputy Squadron Commander Captain Pete Marfleet said:

"It's fantastic to have the new Lynx Mk9A with its upgraded engines as it means we can be here throughout the summer, supporting the troops on the ground through the toughest time of the year.

"The increased aircraft performance means we can concentrate on bringing the fight to the insurgents."

The aircraft's value in the battle against insurgents lies in its versatile performance. The Lynx crews can track insurgent movements and watch over vulnerable areas with its sophisticated surveillance camera.

This 'overwatch' capability helps in the protection of the massive convoys used to resupply front line troops in the forward operating bases.

The convoys can be vulnerable to attack as they track across vast swathes of desert from base to base but with the Lynx and its formidable weapons systems circling above, the insurgents stay away.

Russia to compete for Afghan helicopter supply tender

Russia's state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport is preparing to compete for a U.S. tender to supply Mi-17 helicopters to Afghanistan, the company's deputy general director Alexander Mikheyev said on Wednesday.

In late May, the United States lifted sanctions against Rosoboronexport blacklisting it from tendering for U.S. arms deals.

The sanctions were imposed in 2006 after the U.S. government accused Rosoboronexport of violating the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

Despite the ban, dozens of Mi-17s have been bought by the United States for Afghanistan and Iraq over the past four years via intermediary entities as commercial items, thus avoiding direct work with Rosoboronexport.

Mikheyev said U.S. companies equipping Afghanistan's military had shown considerable interest in Russian military hardware, especially helicopters.

"I think that since the sanctions [against Rosoboronexport] have been lifted something must change in relations with U.S. companies," Mikheyev said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told an International Conference on Afghanistan in Kabul on Tuesday that Russia would continue to equip Afghanistan's military and police.

Talon Robots Urgently Deployed to Afghanistan

QinetiQ is supplying its battle proven Talon robots to the UK Ministry of Defence for route proving and clearance, under the British Army's Talisman programme.

Deployed since April 2010 in Afghanistan, but only just announced, Talisman is the Army’s latest weapon to help counter the threat posed by Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) and mines. Delivered as an Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) collectively worth more than £180m, Talisman is a suite of vehicles that provide an integrated route proving and clearance capability that is operated by the Royal Engineers.

Much of the work on the Thales-led Talisman project has been done and delivered by UK companies. Each Talisman system, in addition to having Talon units, comprises a variety of other vehicles including the Mastiff Protected Patrol Vehicle; a Buffalo Mine Protected Vehicle with a manipulator arm; a JCB High Mobility Engineer Excavator; and a T-Hawk Micro Air Vehicle.

This is the first order the MOD has placed for QinetiQ’s larger battle proven Talon robots and they now join the 100 Dragon Runners robots announced and delivered into theatre last year by QinetiQ for Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) and ordnance disposal operations. The order for Talons also includes training, spares and a support package.

“We are delighted that our Talon robots are now in use with the MOD and helping to save lives,” stated Neville Salkeld, MD for QinetiQ’s UK Technology Solutions Group. “Talon robots already have an excellent and proven record with US forces with over 3000 units having been supplied. Many are in constant use in-theatre and are supported by a rapid in theatre repair service which because of the systems’ robust modular design means a damaged unit can often be returned to operational status within just a few hours.”

“Talisman will improve our ability to manage the IED and mine threat with the system’s primary mission being to protect vehicle convoys delivering supplies to Forward Operating Bases,” added Patrick Beazley, Head of Combat Wheels Group at Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S). “It has been designed as a flexible manoeuvre support capability that can be quickly re-tasked and rearranged to meet different missions, operating independently or alongside other bomb disposal systems dependent on the threat. Talisman is now part of a wide range of tools, techniques and tactics we have to help mitigate the risk to our forces from the threat of IEDs.”

Britain to hand over violent Afghan area to US

British troops are to withdraw from one of the deadliest areas of southern Afghanistan where its forces have suffered heavy casualties, and hand control to the United States, reports said Wednesday.

British servicemen will be pulled out of Sangin district in the north of Helmand province, the Guardian newspaper and the BBC reported. US forces, which now outnumber British troops in Helmand, will then be put in charge.

Of 312 British service personnel to have died in Afghanistan since operations began there in 2001, around a third were killed in Sangin.

The area is particularly dangerous because it contains a patchwork of rival tribes and is a major centre for the country's opium-growing trade.

British Defence Secretary Liam Fox was expected to announce later Wednesday that the country's forces will refocus their efforts on Helmand's central belt, leaving the north and south to the US, said the reports.

It is understood the withdrawal of British troops, which number about 1,000 in Sangin, will not begin for several months.
The decision followed Britain handing over command in Helmand to an American general last month.

It also came as President Barack Obama's troop surge pumps greater numbers of US forces into Helmand -- there are now some 20,000 American marines in the province.

Britain's Ministry of Defence refused to confirm the reports. A spokesman said: "Any changes to force lay down affecting UK personnel will be announced in the usual way."

While policymakers will strive to present the changes as simply a reorganisation of international forces in the province, observers voiced fears the move could be seen as a retreat and used as propaganda by the Taliban.

"People will assume... that this is preparing the ground for the eventual withdrawal in 2015 and it is bound, of course, to be interpreted in that way by the Taliban," said former Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell.

He added that people would think back to events in Basra, Iraq, "where the moving of British troops was somehow presented as if they had created some kind of retreat."

Britain has 8,000 servicemen in Helmand province, the lion's share of the their 9,500 forces in Afghanistan, which are part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

Britain is the second largest contributor of forces to the Afghan war effort after the US.