'Re-use of US military asset in Afghanistan may lead to proliferation of arms'

NEW DELHI: Amid emerging threats of re-use or re-sale of original US military equipment in Asia by Pakistan using reverse technology, the experts have warned that it could lead to proliferation of arms in Asia.

According to the latest intelligence input, a team of top aviation engineers of the Pakistan Air Force arrived in Kabul to assess the aircraft and choppers left behind by the American forces at Bagram airbase and Kabul airport.

"The Pakistani engineers have been evaluating the worthiness of those military aircraft which are operational, reparable, or saleable for further utilisation of these air assets for their own operational requirements or for passing on to their strategic partners or non-State actors on payment", the sources said.

They also said that the Pakistani team has been preparing an inventory of spares needed to operationalise these grounded air assets or they can also use important components of these aircraft for their own military use. If these aviation assets are transferred to terror outfits, this could lead to vital security threats not only to India but for the whole of Central Asia, a senior defence official said on the condition of anonymity.

"The Pakistani Air force is facing shortage of spares for its US-origin military hardware due to a supply embargo put in place by Washington, and the engineers could identify and dismantle such parts required by the Pakistanis," an expert keeping eyes on these developments in Kabul said.

Counter Terrorism experts have observed that these military hardware left behind in Afghanistan could potentially lead to arms proliferation in entire Asia and beyond.

They also apprehend that by using "Reverse engineering" of US military equipment, Pakistan could bring out better or even advanced versions of these defence assets which could dominate over the forces in the region. This could pose a challenge to the Indian forces' edge with the use of American military hardware.

Quoting the example, a senior defence forces officer said that when a US Black Hawk helicopter crashed during the mission that killed Osama bin Laden on May 4, 2011, the Americans took away the wreckage of the copter so that the technology could not be copied by Pakistan or China. The Chinese have always been looking for US military technologies to upgrade their defence assets and this could be boon for them as both China and Pakistan are the mentors of the new Taliban government formed on Tuesday. (IANS)

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