India will deliver four refurbished Russian-made Mi-25 'Hind' attack helicopters to the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) by early 2016, official sources have said.
The renovated Indian Air Force Mi-25s, armed with YakB four-barrelled 12.7 mm machine guns, rockets, and grenade launchers, would be the first offensive weaponry supplied to Afghanistan by India following their October 2011 strategic partnership agreement (SPA).
In April, India transferred military transport vehicles and three unarmed Cheetal helicopters - upgraded variants of the licence-built Cheetah (Aérospatiale SA-315) light utility helicopter - to the ANDSF.
Modified to the ANDSF's requirements, these Cheetals are capable of operating in Afghanistan's mountainous regions, transporting troops, conducting casualty evacuation and reconnaissance missions, and providing logistic support to ground forces.
