A number of the Afghan Air Force (AFF) pilots, who have been trained to fly the new Black Hawks, delivered in recent weeks to Afghanistan, have only good things to say about their new helicopters.

The pilots said the Black Hawks, supplied by the United States, were easy to fly and light on fuel.

They welcomed the addition to the range of helicopters used by the AAF and said the Black Hawks were a huge improvement on what they had.

“These helicopters are modern and they are cheaper to fly than the (Russian) MI-17s,” one pilot Jawad Saqib said.

The pilots said the Black Hawks will play a significant role in winning the war and targeting insurgents.

“We came here (to Kandahar) for training and we have been here for two weeks. Our training (here) will last for six weeks,” said one AAF pilot Mohammad Tahir.

The Afghan Air Force took delivery of two new Black Hawks from the US in southern Kandahar province on Saturday and pilots are being trained by foreign air force personnel.  

“The pilots are undergoing two phases of training; the first phase is called the AQT phase, which is about 1.5 months; the second phase is the MQT phase which is about 2.3 months … it’s about five to six months in total,” one US Air Force trainer said.

The Taliban meanwhile said that the Black Hawks, like Humvees, would “benefit” them, adding that they had seized numerous Humvees from the security forces.