Thursday, June 27, 2013

Freak Afghan Hailstorm In April Grounded 80 Nato Helicopters

U.S. soldiers move away after hooking up a M777A2 howitzer to a CH-47 Chinook helicopter to be airlifted from Forward Operating Base Hadrian in Deh Rawud village in Uruzgan province to Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, June 18, 2013. U.S. Army photo by Mark Doran

Freak Afghan Hailstorm Grounded Scores Of Nato Helicopters -- The Guardian

Hailstones the size of golf balls left some damaged helicopters out of action for more than three weeks

A freak hailstorm over one of the biggest Nato airbases in Afghanistan grounded more than 80 helicopters, putting several of them out of action for more than three weeks, it has emerged.

The half-hour storm in late April split rotor blades, cracked windows, ruptured the choppers' metal skin and damaged other parts. The hail was so intense that after an intensive repair programme eight of the choppers were still inoperable more than three weeks later, according to a Nato spokesman.

Videos show hailstones the size of golf balls pelting down on the airbase, which is at the edge of a desert and in summer endures temperatures that can climb above 50C.

Read more ....

My Comment: There is no mention if aircraft and/or drones were also damaged.

No comments:

Post a Comment