An American-made MD-530F helicopter belonging to the National Air Corps of Afghanistan made an emergency landing in Helmand Province.
?? A MD530 Black Bird helicopter of the 289th unit of Afghan Air Force crashed yesterday in Bolan, Helmand province of Afghanistan. #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/RfxQfkRn36
— The RAGEX (@theragex) July 30, 2021
The militants of the Taliban terrorist group banned in Russia claimed that they managed to knock him out. At the same time, the command of the government forces reported that the incident occurred for technical reasons. The crew was not injured and was able to reach the territory controlled by the central authorities. After that, he was promptly evacuated.
Photos of this helicopter appeared on social networks. Any damage received from the impact of small arms or other weapons is not visible. Only during a hard landing, one of the landing gear runners broke off, which, in principle, is not a fatal breakdown.
Currently, the MD-530F Cayuse Warrior is considered the second largest helicopter in the armed forces of Afghanistan after the Russian Mi-17. They are specially designed for conducting combat operations in this region and are a modification of the equipment that appeared back in the 60s and was actively used during the US aggression in Vietnam.
As weapons, they can use suspended containers with 12.7-mm machine guns. It is also possible to use launchers of 70-mm unguided aircraft missiles with seven guides.
The take-off weight is about 1700 kg, the maximum speed is 282 km / h. The practical ceiling is 5700 meters. The flight range is 430 km. The capacity is 7 people.
In addition to the virtually unprotected overseas turntables, Afghan pilots continue to operate armored Mi-35s, which also strike at militant formations.
Alexey Moiseev
