Leidos Wins $728M US Army Contract To Support Afghan Helicopter fleet

Leidos has won a contract valued up to $728 million from the US Army to support the Afghanistan Air Force (AAF) and Special Mission Wing (SMW) helicopter and fixed-wing fleets.

Work will be performed in Kabul, Afghanistan, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2020.

Through the Afghanistan Contractor Logistics Support contract, Leidos will deliver all flight operations, maintenance, and logistics, and will provide mentoring for the AAF and SMW to operate and maintain aircraft.

In September 2017, Afghan air force received first four U.S.-made UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters as part of a planned replacement of its aging fleet of Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters. Reuters reported that the US Army plans to supply 159 Black Hawks to Afghanistan in coming years.

As of April 2017, the Afghan Defence and Security Forces has 47 Mi-17 choppers, out of which 19 are inoperable.