Afghanistan needs advanced fighter jets, tanks, armored vehicles and missiles to ensure its independence, Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Zahir Azimi said on Wednesday.
NATO has pledged to hand over responsibility for security in Afghanistan to Afghans by the end of 2014, but also vowed not to leave the country to face the Taliban threat alone.
"The security situation in Afghanistan, the tense situation in the region necessitates the fight with terrorism, as well as close cooperation with the NATO forces. The Afghan military must have modern technologies in its arsenal," he said.
The Afghan Air Force is to receive 154 aircraft of different types in the next five years, but this is not enough to protect the state's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the general said.
It needs modern interceptors, fighters, reconnaissance, combat support and transport aircraft, air defense systems and radars, he said.
Armored vehicles, including tanks, as well as high-tech missiles, are key to defending the country's land borders and ensuring its independence and territorial integrity, Azimi said.
The majority of the equipment used currently by the Afghan forces is legacy Soviet-built weaponry supplied when the country had a Marxist government.
The Afghan forces have recently taken delivery of new Russian-built Mi-17 helicopters, and small arms and ammunition.
Local observers say, however, that the Taliban, which has neither aircraft nor tanks nor missiles, continues to control up to 70% of Afghan territory, vowing to drive all "occupiers and aggressors" from the country well before 2014.
KABUL, November 24 (RIA Novosti)
