The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has opened a preliminary investigation into the Light Air Support (LAS) deal between the Air Force and contractors Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) and Embraer [ERJ].
LAS is the $427 million program to deliver 20 of Embraer’s A-29 Super Tucanos to Afghanistan for its nascent air force. John Sopko told reporters Tuesday he’s concerned about the policy of training Afghans in the United States as he said a few have disappeared after arrival. Sopko also said he’s looking into whether the Super Tucano is the proper air frame for the close air support mission in Afghanistan. SNC is serving as LAS prime contractor.
“It’s a preliminary inquiry based on allegations,” Sopko said at a Defense Writers Group breakfast in Washington.
Sopko said his office is also investigating other procurements for Afghanistan: 22 Russian Mi-17 helicopters and the G222 program of 20 C-17s. G222 was a $486 million program to provide C-27s for Afghanistan. Sixteen of the 20 aircraft were recently sold as scrap metal for $32,000, or pennies on the dollar. Four remain at an Air Force base in Germany. Sopko said his office has multiple investigations, both a criminal investigation and an audit, being performed on the handling of G222.
The Defense Department has been under scrutiny for its Afghanistan acquisition efforts. The Air Force blamed G222 contractor Alenia Aermacchi for the G222 failure, claiming “failed attempts” by the contractor to generate a “sufficient number” of fully mission capable aircraft (Defense Daily; Jan. 7, 2013). Sopko said the C-27s purchased for G222, basically, did not work.
“It’s been reported to us by people who flew it that it was a death trap,” Sopko said. “Poorly maintained before it was purchased. No one knows why they purchased it.”
In his October quarterly report to Congress, Sopko said he has continuing questions about the G222 program. Sopko said in the report he wants immediate notification once the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) makes up its mind on the fate of the four remaining G222s. Alenia Aermacchi is a division of Finmecannica.
The deal for Mi-17s came under scrutiny last spring after Russia annexed Crimea. Mi-17s are developed by Rosoboronexport, a Russian state-owned firm. As lawmakers called for a ban, an Army general told a Senate panel in April the United States had taken delivery of nine Mi-17s with still another 20-23 left to be delivered and that it would cost “upward of $100 million” to halt deliveries (Defense Daily, April 9).
Sopko said his office’s complaint with the Mi-17s was why new ones were purchased when the Afghans already had problems maintaining and flying them. Sopko’s office never questioned the appropriateness of the platform, he said, just the appropriateness of purchasing additional aircraft when longstanding issues went unresolved. Sopko said he also has both an audit and a criminal investigation ongoing into the Mi-17 deal.
Sopko Tuesday painted a bleak picture of the extent of corruption pervading the U.S. effort to rebuild Afghanistan. He said corruption is getting “significantly” worse and that the amount of money being stolen is worse than before.
“You’ve paid $10,000 to get a job, you don’t know if you’re going to have that job, so you’re going to steal as much as you can before the end happens,” Sopko said. “That’s how it works there in a lot of places. People buy their jobs.”
The Air Force deferred comment to the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). SNC did not comment by press time.