Attack Helicopter Mentors to Stay On in Afghanistan

In 2010, Hungary undertook the Mi-35 Air Mentor Team (AMT) mission in Afghanistan for two years. The airmen of the HDF 86th Szolnok Helicopter Base deployed to Kabul in April 2010. Each rotation of the 12-man contingent is required to do a four-month tour of duty in the Asian country.

Working in cooperation with US and Czech soldiers, the HFD AMT is tasked with providing classroom instruction and on-the-job flying training for the attack helicopter crews of the Afghan Air Force (AAF) and aviation unit maintenance (AVUM) for the helicopters of the Afghan National Army Air Corps (ANAAC), as well as with mentoring the aircraft maintainers. The HDF Mi-35 AMT performs the instructional-mentoring activities within the NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan (NTM-A). NATO forces are deployed in the country under a UN Security Council mandate. ISAF in Afghanistan is NATO’s top priority mission.

Over the recent period, the government of Hungary brought training and mentoring into focus in its new offers for contribution, in accordance with NATO’s priorities. Our main objective is to train and mentor the Afghan National Army so that the government of Afghanistan be able to maintain security in the country on its own.