State Department Air Wing

Last updated
State Department Air Wing
INL Office of Aviation logo.png
Seal of the Air Wing
State Sea Knight 3.jpg
Air Wing Sea Knight N38TU, involved in US withdrawals from both Vietnam and Afghanistan
Office overview
Formed1986 (1986)
TypeAviation support
Jurisdiction Executive branch of the United States
Headquarters Patrick Space Force Base, Florida [1]
Employees60 (excluding contractors)
Annual budget USD$1 billion (2020) [2]
Parent department United States Department of State
Parent bureau Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Website state.gov/aviation-support

The State Department Air Wing (DoSAW), formally the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Office of Aviation (INL Air Wing or INL/A) is an office of the United States Department of State that supports diplomatic aviation needs falling outside the legal authority or scope of the U.S. Air Force. [3] [4]

Contents

INL's fleet of roughly 200 is composed mostly of vintage aircraft and surplus military helicopters, so as to ease maintenance in austere environments and decrease the cost of upkeep for developing governments that often receive the aircraft. Its aircraft fly more than 13,000 hours annually in support of missions related to counternarcotics, counterterrorism, border security, law enforcement, and embassy transportation. [5] Because of the size and diversity of the fleet and the demands of its global operations, the Air Wing is sometimes referred to as "America's other air force." [6]

History

Air Wing dates to 1978, when the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs was used as the conduit to provide excess U.S. government aircraft to foreign nations to support counternarcotics efforts. [7] Early missions involved crop dusting over drug-production fields in Mexico, Colombia, and Burma. In the early 1980's operations expanded Guatemala and Colombia. [7] In 1984, the Department purchased its first aircraft, a T-65 it used for aerial eradication of illicit drug crops in cooperation with the government of Mexico. The following year, operations began in the Caribbean and Belize. [8]

As the War on Drugs grew, the fleet of aircraft became a larger part of the Department's counternarcotics mission, and in 1986 Congress authorized the creation of a dedicated air wing for the department. [3] Despite the limited scope of its origins, the mission quickly expanded as the needs of the department grew, and the office now services the needs of “counter-terrorism, border security/law enforcement, and embassy transportation missions.” [7]

Operations

Air Wing organization chart as of 2012. State INL Air Wing Organization Chart.gif
Air Wing organization chart as of 2012.

In five of the seven countries where the Air Wing operates, contractors work with local military and law enforcement, and often fly aircraft painted in the insignia of those nations. Through bilateral agreements, Air Wing contractors are embedded directly with the Bolivian Air Force, the Colombian National Police, the Guatemalan Air Force, the Pakistani Frontier Corps, and the Peruvian National Police. Only in Iraq and Afghanistan were Air Wing personnel not directly embedded with another force. [9]

Often the Air Wing trains foreign partners in the maintenance and operation of the aircraft before donating or selling the aircraft to that nation. [9]

Several times a year the Air Wing also provides humanitarian assistance in disasters when requested by the Department, including during floods in Bolivia and Pakistan in 2010.

In 2022 INL/A grew its operations further by establishing an aviation program to support the Libyan Embassy. The airwing currently operates the DHC-8-315 series aircraft out of Malta to support these operations.

Fleet

An ex-US Army MEDEVAC HH-60L flying for "Embassy Air" transports Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Kabul, Afghanistan in April 2021. State Blackhawk 1.jpg
An ex-US Army MEDEVAC HH-60L flying for "Embassy Air" transports Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Kabul, Afghanistan in April 2021.
The Air Wing's Kabul, Afghanistan base at the Camp Alvarado annex Camp Alvarado 2012.jpg
The Air Wing's Kabul, Afghanistan base at the Camp Alvarado annex

As of January 2018, the Air Wing employed 206 aircraft of a variety of types, including various fixed wing aircraft, rotorcraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV); this figure is down from a high of 240 in 2010. [7] The office's cooperative model with often poor and developing partner nations has resulted in its fleet being composed heavily of refurbished, second-hand aircraft, and a number of newer but cheaper models that partner nations can afford to maintain when the aircraft is transferred.

The Air Wing has increasingly moved away from the Sikorsky S-61T as it acquires CH-46 Sea Knights from the U.S. Marine Corps, as the latter seeks to replace it with V-22 Osprey tiltrotors. [10]

Fixed-wing assets include the popular Cessna 208 Caravan and the Air Tractor AT-802 crop duster, the latter used to spray herbicides over drug fields. In the last decade, Air Wing Huey IIs and C-27A transports have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to help develop the air forces of those countries.

Previously, the Air Wing maintained a fleet of Fairchild-Dornier 328s, [6] North American Rockwell OV-10 Broncos, [11] and deeply obsolete Douglas DC-3s. [6]

In 2021, the Air Wing added ex-US Army HH-60L Blackhawk MEDEVAC helicopters to its fleet, identifiable by black nose extensions retained from Army service where they were used for mounting sensors, though in Air Wing service none have been equipped. [10]

CraftNo.TypeUse
AeroVironment RQ-11B Raven 5 [12] UAVSurveillance
Pilatus PC-6 Porter 1 [12] Fixed wing
Air Tractor AT-802 2 [12] Fixed wing Crop dusting
Cessna 208-8 Caravan 3 [12] Fixed wing
Beechcraft 1900 7 [12] Fixed wing
Bombardier Dash 8 8 [12] Fixed wingTransport
McDonnell Douglas MD-530 Little Bird 4 [12] Rotary
HH-60L Black Hawk 22 [12] Rotary
Boeing Vertol CH-46E Sea Knight 23 [12] RotaryTransport
Bell UH-1H II (Huey II) 118 [12] RotaryTransport

Activities

The Air Wing's current base in Iraq. INL Air Wing Iraq Facility.jpg
The Air Wing's current base in Iraq.

War on Terror

In Iraq and Afghanistan, private contractor DynCorp was contracted to fly State Department aircraft in the "Embassy Air" program, completing more than 32,000 regularly scheduled flights per year. [13] Most of these aircraft carried weapons mounted when flying over unsecured areas of Iraq and Afghanistan. [13]

Evacuation of the US embassy in Afghanistan

An Air Wing "Embassy Air" CH-46 Sea Knight at the US Embassy, Kabul, in April 2021. Months later it would evacuate diplomats from the facility. State Sea Knight 4.jpg
An Air Wing "Embassy Air" CH-46 Sea Knight at the US Embassy, Kabul, in April 2021. Months later it would evacuate diplomats from the facility.
One of the seven Air Wing Sea Knights during the Kabul Airlift. Afghanistan withdrawal Image 3 of 7.jpg
One of the seven Air Wing Sea Knights during the Kabul Airlift.

During the Fall of Kabul in August 2021, Blackhawk and Sea Knight helicopters of the Air Wing operated in conjunction with US Army CH-47 Chinook helicopters to evacuate the US embassy in Kabul as the Taliban seized control of the city. A photo taken of the flight operations showing a CH-47 landing behind an embassy building was compared to a photo of a Marine Sea Knight evacuating the last Americans from the US embassy in Saigon during the Fall of Saigon, while one of Air Wing Sea Knights flying the rescue operations in Kabul was also in fact previously employed during the evacuation of Saigon. [14] Following the evacuation, seven CH-46's were made inoperable and abandoned at the airport. [15]

Cyprus air base

In 2013, the Air Wing established an air base on the island of Cyprus. The expressed purpose of the facility, which housed five helicopters and approximately 40 State Department and contractor personnel, was to provide flexibility to support evacuations throughout the Middle East in the wake of the 2012 Benghazi attack and the Syrian civil war spillover in Lebanon. The Office of the Inspector General in 2017 determined that the base represented "nearly $71 million dollars in potentially unnecessary expenditures", and that it was established without the approval of the Department’s Aviation Governing Board. OIG wrote that the Department was unable to produce any records from the time the base began operating that “explained the purpose of the base, the anticipated cost of any evacuation services or the likely extent of its usage. Similarly, no documentation could be found addressing potential alternatives to this facility.”

Patrick Kennedy, a State Department official who made the decision to establish the base, defended the decision as a necessary precaution after criticism of the response to the attacks on the embassy in Benghazi, asking a reporter from ABC News "If you buy insurance and never use it, did you make a mistake?" Use of the facility in Cyprus was ultimately discontinued in 2017. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight</span> Tandem transport helicopter designed by Vertol

The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is an American medium-lift tandem-rotor transport helicopter powered by twin turboshaft engines. It was designed by Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol following Vertol's acquisition by Boeing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing CH-47 Chinook</span> American tandem-rotor helicopter introduced in 1962 during the Cold War.

The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, Chinook, is from the Native American Chinook people of Oregon and Washington state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DynCorp</span> Defunct American corporation

DynCorp, formally DynCorp International, was an American private military contractor. Started as an aviation company, the company also provided flight operations support, training and mentoring, international development, intelligence training and support, contingency operations, security, and operations and maintenance of land vehicles. DynCorp received more than 96% of its more than $3 billion in annual revenue from the U.S. federal government. The corporate headquarters were in an unincorporated part of Fairfax County near Falls Church, Virginia, while the company's contracts were managed from its office at Alliance Airport in Fort Worth, Texas. DynCorp provided services for the U.S. military in several theaters, including Bolivia, Bosnia, Somalia, Angola, Haiti, Colombia, Kosovo and Kuwait. It also provided much of the security for Afghan president Hamid Karzai's presidential guard and trained much of the police forces of Iraq and Afghanistan. DynCorp was also hired to assist recovery in Louisiana and neighboring areas after Hurricane Katrina. The company held one contract on every round of competition since receiving the first Contract Field Teams contract in 1951.

Military history of Australia during the War in Afghanistan Australian contribution to the war in Afghanistan

The Australian contribution to the war in Afghanistan has been known as Operation Slipper (2001–2014) and Operation Highroad (2015–2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kabul International Airport</span> International airport near Kabul, Afghanistan

Kabul International Airport is located in the northern part of Kabul, Afghanistan. It is one of the country's main international airports, capable of housing over a hundred military and civilian aircraft. It is currently operated by UAE-based GAAC Holding and Afghanistan's Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion</span> 1964 transport helicopter family by Sikorsky

The CH-53 Sea Stallion is an American family of heavy-lift transport helicopters designed and built by the American manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. The Sea Stallion was originally developed in response to a request from the United States Navy's Bureau of Naval Weapons made in March 1962 for a replacement for the Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave helicopters flown by the United States Marine Corps (USMC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Frequent Wind</span> Part of the Vietnam War (1975)

Operation Frequent Wind was the final phase in the evacuation of American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, before the takeover of the city by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Fall of Saigon. It was carried out on 29–30 April 1975, during the last days of the Vietnam War. More than 7,000 people were evacuated by helicopter from various points in Saigon. The airlift resulted in a number of enduring images.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghan Air Force</span> Aerial service branch of the Afghan military

The General Command of the Air Force also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Air Force and the Afghan Air Force, is the air force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine Aircraft Group 36</span> Military unit

Marine Aircraft Group 36 (MAG-36) is an active air group of the United States Marine Corps, tasked with providing assault support aircraft. It is currently part of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, itself an integral part of the III Marine Expeditionary Force, and based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Marine Aircraft Wing</span> Military unit

The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing is an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps that serves as the Aviation Combat Element of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The wing is headquartered at Camp Foster on the island of Okinawa, Japan. Activated in 1940, the wing has seen heavy combat operations during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th Aviation Regiment (Australia)</span> Australian Army unit

The 5th Aviation Regiment is an Australian Army aviation unit. Formed in 1987 after the Army took over responsibility for operating helicopters from the Royal Australian Air Force, the regiment is based at RAAF Base Townsville, in Queensland. It currently forms part of the 16th (Aviation) Brigade and it operates the majority of the Army's transport helicopters. Throughout its existence, the regiment has been deployed overseas numerous times, supporting both peacekeeping and warlike operations. Since its formation elements of the regiment have made operational deployments to Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Iraq, Indonesia and Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VMM-165</span> Military unit

Marine Medium Tilt Rotor Squadron 165 (VMM-165) is a United States Marine Corps Tilt-rotor squadron consisting of MV-22B Osprey transport aircraft. The squadron, known as the "White Knights", is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California and fall under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 16 (MAG-16) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HMH-464</span> Military unit

Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464 (HMH-464) is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of CH-53E Super Stallion transport helicopters. The squadron is known as the "Condors" and is based at Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina. They fall under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 29 (MAG-29) and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VMM-365</span> United States Marine Corps squadron

Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365 (VMM-365) is a United States Marine Corps tiltrotor squadron consisting of MV-22B Osprey transport aircraft. The squadron, known as the "Blue Knights", is based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 26 (MAG-26) and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs</span> U.S. State Department division

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is an agency that reports to the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights within the United States Department of State. Under the umbrella of its general mission of developing policies and programs to combat international narcotics and crime, INL plays an important role in the training of partner nation security forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HMH-463</span> Military unit

Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463 (HMH-463) was a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of CH-53E Super Stallion transport helicopters. The squadron, also known as "Pegasus", was last based at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii and fell under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 24 (MAG-24) and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. HMH-463 was decommissioned in April 2022 as part of the Commandant of the Marine Corps Force Design 2030 initiative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Eagle Pull</span> Part of the Vietnam War (1975)

Operation Eagle Pull was the United States military evacuation by air of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 12 April 1975. At the beginning of April 1975, Phnom Penh, one of the last remaining strongholds of the Khmer Republic, was surrounded by the Khmer Rouge and totally dependent on aerial resupply through Pochentong Airport. With a Khmer Rouge victory imminent, the US government made contingency plans for the evacuation of US nationals and allied Cambodians by helicopter to ships in the Gulf of Thailand. Operation Eagle Pull took place on the morning of 12 April 1975 and was a tactical success carried out without any loss of life. Five days later the Khmer Republic collapsed and the Khmer Rouge occupied Phnom Penh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embassy of the United States, Kabul</span> Former U.S. diplomatic mission to Afghanistan

The Embassy of the United States of America in Kabul was the official diplomatic mission of the United States of America to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The embassy was housed in a chancery located on Great Massoud Road in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood of the Afghan capital, Kabul, and was built at a cost of nearly $800 million. On August 15, 2021, in the face of a Taliban advance on Kabul, embassy staff relocated to makeshift but secure facilities at Hamid Karzai International Airport. Kabul fell and the chancery building officially closed late August 15.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Kabul airlift</span> Military evacuation following the Fall of Kabul

Large-scale evacuations of foreign citizens and some vulnerable Afghan citizens took place amid the withdrawal of US and NATO forces at the end of the 2001–2021 war in Afghanistan. The Taliban took control of Kabul and declared victory on 15 August 2021, and the NATO-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan collapsed. With the Taliban controlling the whole city except Hamid Karzai International Airport, hostilities ceased and the Taliban assisted in the evacuation effort by providing security and screening evacuees.

References

  1. ↑ "Mission Partners". www.patrick.spaceforce.mil. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  2. ↑ "DoS INL Air Wing Industry Day Brief". Document Cloud . Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  3. 1 2 Malik, Marisha (May 2011). "High Flyers: INL Air Wing expands beyond counternarcotics" (PDF). State Magazine .
  4. ↑ "Mission Partners". www.patrick.spaceforce.mil. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  5. ↑ "Aviation Support". United States Department of State . Retrieved 2021-08-16.
  6. 1 2 3 Rogoway, Tyler (September 12, 2014). "Check Out This Shadowy Jet That Belongs To America's 'Other Air Force'". Jalopnik. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Ferran, Lee (May 27, 2014). "Photo Gives Glimpse of Low-Profile US Air Operation". ABC News. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
  8. ↑ Lowman, Jesse (January 9, 2013). "DoS INL Air Wing Industry Day Brief". Document Cloud. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  9. 1 2 "The U.S. State Department has its own air force. And it's surprisingly big". The Week . January 8, 2015. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
  10. 1 2 Kehoe, Adam; Rogoway, Tyler (August 16, 2021). "Five Decades After Evacuating The Embassy In Saigon The CH-46 Phrog Did It Again In Kabul". The War Zone. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  11. ↑ Copalman, Joe (2007-10-11), OV-10G Bronco, N15453, US Department of State, ex-USMC OV-10D 155409 , retrieved 2021-08-16
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Audit of the Department of State's Administration of its Aviation Program" (PDF). State Department Office of the Inspector General . September 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-04-23. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
  13. 1 2 Trevithick, Joseph (9 July 2018). "U.S. Secretary of State Rides in Gun-Toting "Embassy Air" Helicopter In Afghanistan". The War Zone. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
  14. ↑ Parsons, Dan (August 16, 2021). "Taliban captures Afghan helicopters as last U.S. personnel evacuated". Vertical Magazine. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  15. ↑ "Afghanistan: What was left behind by US forces?". BBC News. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  16. ↑ Ferran, Lee (October 9, 2018). "State Department quietly shutters questionable $70 million Cyprus base". ABC News. Retrieved 2021-08-16.

External sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.