By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Brussles : Afghan engineers who will maintain helicopters for the country’s armed forces are currently undergoing training in Russia, NATO General Secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said.
The training programme, under which the Afghan engineers will maintain Russia-built helicopters, is going on in Novosibirsk city, and is being financed by the NATO-Russia Council (NRC).
The NRC set up a fund in April 2011 to help train personnel for servicing the Afghan forces’ helicopters.
Russia is delivering new Mi-17 helicopters to Afghanistan, paid for by the US. Russia signed a $367.5 million deal in 2011 with the US Department of Defense for 21 Mi-17V5 helicopters. Delivery is due to be completed in July 2012.
Pilots for the Afghan helicopters have already been trained in Britain.