Pubdate: Mon, 04 Sep 2000
Source: Jane's Defence Weekly
Copyright: Jane's Information Group Limited 2000
Contact:  1340 Braddock Place, Suite 300, Alexandria, VA 22314-1651 USA
Fax: 1 703 836 0297 / 1 800 836 029 Website: http://www.janes.com/
Author: Bryan Bender, JDW Bureau Chief

DOUBTS OVER OPERATIONAL BENEFITS OF COLOMBIA AID

The USA's controversial $1.3 billion aid package to Colombia has been 
defended in Washington largely on the grounds that the new helicopters 
and other aid will be used only to fight the nation's drug war and not 
in counter-insurgency operations against the Revolutionary Armed Forces 
of Colombia (FARC) and other left-wing rebel groups.  

However, a growing number of Colombian and US officials maintain that 
the equipment package itself, the largest to date, falls significantly 
short of operational needs and will do little to improve Colombia's 
ability to successfully wage war against the drug cartels, increasingly 
protected by Colombia's well-armed guerrillas.  

Following a one-day visit last week by US President Bill Clinton, 
Colombia is now set to receive the three-year funding package to 
acquire 42 refurbished Bell Helicopter-Textron UH-1 Huey II and 18 new 
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters, as well as Schweizer SA 
2-37A surveillance aircraft, Ayres S2R T-65 pesticide spraying aircraft 
and related training.  

Bell officials say all 42 Huey II kits, intended to modernise the 
engines, avionics and other capabilities of the ageing, Vietnam-era UH-
1s, could be completed by December 2001. While the contracts for the 
Huey II work have not yet been awarded, the company believes each 
helicopter kit, consisting of 6,000 parts, could be completed in five 
to six months.  

According to US government officials, the 18 new and more capable UH-60 
Sikorsky Black Hawks should be delivered 18 to 24 months after the 
final contract is signed. According to one official, there is a 
possibility that some of the aircraft could come directly from the 
current UH-60 production line, speeding up their delivery.  

However, it is highly debatable whether the assistance package, 
approved despite lingering US concerns about the human rights record of 
the Colombian National Police and military forces, will meet Colombia's 
operational requirements. Officials maintain that the less expensive, 
and less capable, Huey II helicopter, which makes up most of the 
equipment package, will not meet the nation's pressing equipment needs. 
In fact, the US Department of Defense and US State Department 
originally asked Congress for 30 Huey IIs and 30 of the more powerful 
Black Hawks.  

US Army aviation experts drafted a report following a May 2000 visit to 
the region in which they recommended providing more Black Hawks to 
Colombian counter-narcotics forces because of its superior range, troop 
carrying capability and ability to operate at higher altitudes.  

Moreover, the Colombian government recently sent a letter to the US 
government expressing its desire for more superior UH-60s. One US 
official described the decision to provide 42 Huey IIs and only 18 
Black Hawks as a "slap in the face to the Colombian government and the 
Pentagon".  

The UH-60's T700 engines can lift almost twice the number of passengers 
at altitudes over 10,000ft, travel 300n miles (556km) and fly at speeds 
up to 170kts (314km/h). The Huey II will carry fewer troops shorter 
distances at lower altitudes. This means the UH-1s will require forward 
arming and refuelling locations nearer the areas of drug cultivation in 
the south, and thus nearer the FARC, which controls nearly 40% of the 
country.  

Ivan Rios, a senior FARC commander, has publicly said the FARC will now 
arm more fighters and attempt to buy anti-aircraft missiles to shoot 
down the new helicopters.  

According to US State Department policy, the 60 helicopters will be 
shipped to Colombia unarmed. The Colombian government generally arms 
its helicopters with machine guns, electric-powered mini-guns and 
rocket pods.  

The debate continues in the USA with regard to whether the helicopters 
will be used to fight the FARC and other left- and right-wing groups, 
in addition to fighting narcotics traffickers. During his visit with 
Colombian President Andres Pastrana last week, Clinton said that "this 
is not Vietnam" and pledged that "there won't be American involvement 
in a shooting war, because they don't want it and we don't want it".  
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MAP posted-by: John Chase