Afghan aircrews train over Wiltshire

Some years ago the sight of Russian helicopters over the Wiltshire countryside may have caused some concern. However, times have changed, and two Mi-17 helicopters are being used by British forces to train their Afghan colleagues as part of Project Curium.

The two-year project aims to train Afghan helicopter pilots and build the seed corn of an indigenous force in the country so that fewer UK forces will be required there in the future.

Secret up until now, the project is being run by QinetiQ on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, and, when completed at the end of this month, 27 Afghan aircrew will have been trained on the helicopters.

The Mi-17 aircraft themselves are Russian-built medium twin-turbine transport helicopters that can also act as gunships. They were purchased from the Bulgarian military and are now Afghan-owned - although registered to the British military and carrying UK livery for the duration of the project.

The pilot training programme typically lasts 12 months, consisting of two flying periods interspersed with ground school.

Basic flying training begins on the Gazelle and is followed by advanced flying training on the Mi-17, conducted on the MOD Boscombe Down airfield and over the Salisbury Plain Training Area.

The flight engineer syllabus is slightly shorter but both syllabi are modelled on the helicopter training given to UK students at the Defence Helicopter Flying School (DHFS) at RAF Shawbury, albeit conducted on different aircraft types.

The key to developing an indigenous capability as quickly as possible is to train the Afghan aircrew on the type of helicopter they will fly on return to Afghanistan, the Mi-17.

Training Afghan students on the Mi-17 here has the added benefit of not denying valuable slots for UK helicopter aircrew students at DHFS.

JHC provides a total of 12 permanent staff from the Special Duties Squadron which itself is drawn from all three Services. Many of these pilot trainers have recent operational flying experience on other rotary types in Afghanistan.

Of that 12, three are Mi-17 instructors, two are Gazelle instructors, three staff train the flight engineers, and the remainder make up a headquarters element.

One of the pilot instructors is Lieutenant Bridget Compain, Royal Navy, who has carried out several tours of Afghanistan. She was keen to volunteer when she heard about the chance to fly the aircraft and train Afghan crews in their use.

Lt Compain said:

"When I heard about the project I was excited about flying the aircraft and the challenge of training the Afghans, and it has proved thoroughly enjoyable.

"It is a unique experience to have the Mi-17 in the UK and especially on a military register.

"I love flying the aircraft and the students have been fantastic - studious, respectful and hardworking. It has been very rewarding.

"The language barrier is the biggest challenge. But as an instructor you just need to be sure you word any instructions in a clear way.

"But their English has come on a long way and by the end of the course I can speak to them as I would any UK student and they understand all the aviation aspects.

"I'll be sad to see them go. But we are sending them back as professional and competent aviators. It makes me happy to know they have had the best training and will be contributing to Afghan security."

Two of Lt Compain's Afghan students, Karim and Sayeed (preferring not to give their full names for security reasons), said they were looking forward to using their skills for real in Afghanistan.

Second Lieutenant Karim, who had never flown previously and was selected for the course from the Afghan National Security Forces, said his first time flying a helicopter in the UK was 'big fun'.

He praised the instruction he had received from the British staff but said he was keen to return to his home country and put his skills into action:

"I now want to help my country and serve my people," Karim said.

Sayeed, another Afghan trainee helicopter pilot, said:

"I want to work for our people. I want stability in my country, and I want peace in my country, because we are anti-terrorist. We are against those people who are against our country. So if those people are against us, so I am against them, this is for sure. That's why I am training."

Of all the Afghan students who have undergone training here so far, only one pilot student has not graduated; a success rate on a par with that of our UK students at DHFS.

The student that did not meet the standard will still deliver a ground-based aviation role in Afghanistan, so his training will be put to good use.

Wing Commander Al Smith, Officer Commanding of the Special Duties Squadron, said:

"The students are of a very good standard, partly because they're talented, partly because they're also enthusiastic and want to make a difference to their country.

"Of those 27 trainees, we've only lost one pilot who didn't make the grade. He's gone back to an aviation job, a ground-based job in Afghanistan, so even the training that we did give him has still been good value for money."

On return to Afghanistan the pilots and crew will further their training and carry out flying at the direction of the Afghan Government.

Sayeed added:

"I came here as a normal man. Now I am living as a pilot. This is the biggest change, and I am able to fly and look up from now. All of my family, even my country, is proud of me."

This UK project is just one of several organised by ISAF-participating countries with the aim of building a robust Afghan helicopter force, and will eventually lead to 'training the trainers' courses so that Afghan forces can sustain their own throughput of pilots and crew.