Article Posted on : - Jul 15, 2010

The Mi-17 helicopter of Pakistan Army.

ISLAMABAD (PTI): The US has delivered four refurbished Mi-17 helicopters to the Pakistan Army.

The overhaul programme, carried out at an American facility, 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 Mi-17s in Pakistan Army, 12 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 $12 billion to Pakistan in security assistance, training and equipment, which includes $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 for the Pakistan Navy, 115 M109A5 Howitzer self-propelled field artillery cannons and more than 450 vehicles for Pakistan's Frontier Corps.