Afghan National Army Air Corps

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Afghan National Army Air Corps (ANA Air Corps) is one of seven "corps" of the military of Afghanistan, and the only one responsible for air defense and air warfare. It was established officially in 1924 and for most of its history has functioned as a small but separate air service. The major exception was the 1980s when the Soviets built up the "Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Air Force," first in an attempt to defeat the mujahideen-led insurgency and, by the end of the decade, in hopes that a strong Afghan air arm would preserve the pro-Soviet government of Dr Najibullah. In 1992, the collapse of the Najibullah Government and the continuation of a civil war among several competing mujahideen factions throughout the remainder of the decade reduced the Afghan air arm to a very small force with minimal capabilities. In the fall of 2001, the US/Coalition bombing campaign neutralized most of what remained of Afghan air power. Rebuilding efforts began shortly thereafter but were extremely limited for several years.