KABUL - The United States (US) would deliver Afghanistan 20 fighter jets until the end of 2015, the Ministry of Defence announced on Monday.

Talks with US officials are underway in this regard, Dawlat Waziri, deputy spokesman of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), told reporters in Kabul. however, he did not reveal the value of the aircrafts.

“The Afghan Air Force direly needs fighter jets and our demand for cargo aircrafts and helicopter has been met to some extent,” said Waziri.

He said three brigades of armed forces in Kabul, Kandahar, and the Shindand district of Herat had been equipped with helicopter gunships and cargo aircrafts.

He said currently the air force’s 777 brigade in Kabul has 40 helicopters and 35 of them were fully operational and the remaining five needed some repair.

Waziri added the Defence Ministry owned 28 C20 and four C130 aircrafts used for different operations.

The MoD spokesman said currently 20 pilots of the Afghan National Army (ANA) were being trained in the US and they would join the air force till the end of this year.

He said troops had been directed to fully respond to any aggression from across the country’s borders, a veiled reference to Pakistan. (Pajhwok)