The A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft supplied by the U.S. to the Afghan air force have been used extensively since arriving in January, flying hundreds of sorties including close-air support missions, NATO”s Resolute Support headquarters in Kabul said Tuesday.”Since January, Afghan Air Force A-29 pilots have flown more than 260 sorties, supporting operational and training missions,” Resolute Support said in an e-mail statement on the milestone achievement for the turboprop aircraft.The statement did not specify how many of the sorties were operational but Army Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland, the chief spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said last week that the A-29s “are providing close air support.” He also did not specify how many close air support missions had been flown or describe their effectiveness.Cleveland said the first four A-29s arrived in Afghanistan in January and became operational on April 1. Another four A-29s have been delivered to the Afghan Air Force since then, he said in a video briefing to the Pentagon from Kabul.
