The US expects to replace Afghanistan Air Force's fleet of Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters with Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawks, the first two of which were received by the Afghan Air Force in a ceremony in Kabul on Tuesday.
Afghanistan plans to acquire more than 100 UH-60 Black Hawks in the coming years. The UH-60A Black Hawks were welcomed earlier this month at an airfield in Kandahar by President Ashraf Ghani and other Afghan and US officials, the US Army announced on Tuesday.
"We share the same value of defending freedom, of living without fear," Ghani said in in remarks at a ceremony to accept the aircraft. "Terrorists of this world should know... they will not thrive here. We will eliminate them."