US embassy cable - 05ISLAMABAD16140

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 016140 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT - PLEASE PASS TO USAID 
KABUL - PLEASE PASS TO CFC-A 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/27/2015 
TAGS: AEMR, ASEC, EAID, MASS, MCAP, MOPS, PGOV, PK, PREL, Earthquake 
SUBJECT: PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE:  PARTS SHORTAGE MAY SOON 
GROUND PAKISTANI MI-17 RELIEF OPERATIONS 
 
REF: A. ISLAMABAD 15861 
 
     B. STATE 196411 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, Reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C)  Summary and introduction:  Since October 8, 
Pakistan's Army Aviation has kept its fleet of heavy-lift 
MI-17 helicopters in the air flying daily sorties 
transporting relief supplies to areas devastated the South 
Asian earthquake.  To accomplish this dramatic shift in its 
mission, reourceful Army Aviation maintenance crews have 
turned to cannibalizing grounded MI-17s for parts after 
having quickly depleting their normal stockpiles of parts.  A 
shortage of replacement parts will increasingly impair Army 
Aviation support for earthquake relief operations, as helo 
sorties decline because aircraft must wait for maintenance 
(Ref A).  Post estimates that an infusion of USD 16 million 
is required to restore Pakistan's MI-17 fleet to a 70 percent 
availability level over the next six months.  End summary and 
introduction. 
 
Pakistani Army Aviation Operations 
---------------------------------- 
2. (C)  Pakistan Army Aviation has 40 MI-17s, five of which 
had been seconded to other GOP agencies (Note:  The MI-17 
that crashed on October 16 was one of these five.  End note.) 
 Information available to post's Office of Defense 
Representative - Pakistan (ODRP) and CENTCOM's Disaster 
Assistance Center (DAC) indicated that, as of October 26, ten 
(10) MI-17s have not been operational recently:  six (6) are 
being overhauled; one (1) would be uneconomical to repair; 
one (1) suffered crash damage and two (2) have been 
identified as excess defense articles and are being 
cannibalized for parts.  Of the remaining thirty MI-17s: 
 
-- four (4) are out of the country supporting UN missions 
-- four (4) are out of service for phased maintenance 
-- two (2) are out of service for inspection 
-- one (1) is out of service because of a rotor strike 
-- one (1) is out of service because of a tail boom strike by 
the main rotor 
-- eighteen (18) are available for EQ relief operations* 
 
*  Based on ODRP and DAC observations, post believes that 
true daily availability rate for Pak Army helos is closer to 
fourteen (14), as maintenance on each aircraft can take 1-2 
days. 
 
3. (C)  Pakistan Army Aviation had budgeted for 5000 flying 
hours for the fiscal year beginning June 30, 2005.  In the 
weeks since the October 8 earthquake, the MI-17 fleet has 
been flying at a dramatically accelerated operational tempo: 
Pakistan Army Aviation claims that it is flying an average of 
six (6) hours per operation aircraft per day.  At this rate, 
Army Aviation will burn through its flying hour allotment for 
the year in the next month.  The cost for 5000 hours of 
flying based on thirty (30) operational MI-17s is 
approximately USD 3 million.  Pakistan Army Aviation planners 
estimate that 15,000 MI-17 flying hours will be required to 
support earthquake relief through April, based on thirty (3) 
available MI-17s, the current rate of operation and the 
eventual withdrawal of USG and other donors' rotary wing 
assets.  The current budget to operate Pakistan's entire 380 
ship aviation fleet is only USD 40 million. 
 
4.  (C)  Pakistan Army Aviation is in danger of becoming 
Non-Mission Capable within a month; ODRP and DAC have already 
noted a significant degradation in available aircraft for 
daily sorties.  Although  Army Aviation Fleet Maintenance 
Chief BG Najeeb Tariq has requested additional funding for 
MI-17 parts and services, none has been forthcoming.  Army 
Aviation maintenance personnel have shared their concerns 
with ODRP and DAC regarding the availability of parts in the 
mid- to long-term, as they are quickly consuming available 
stocks.  (Note: Having ten MI-17s that are not operational 
has turned into a boon for the maintenance crews, which has 
been relying on stripping grounded aircraft for parts as a 
short-term panacea.  End notes.) 
 
5.  (C)  ODRP and DAC estimate that USD 16 million would be 
necessary to bring Pakistan's MI-17 fleet to a sustained 70 
percent availability rate: 
 
-- Restoration of one MI-17 with major damage:  USD 1.2 
million 
-- Restoration of two EDA MI-17s cannibalized for parts:  USD 
1 million 
-- Operational costs - 15,000 flying hours for thirty MI-17s 
over six months:  USD 9 million 
-- Previously contracted overhaul of six MI-17s:  USD 4.8 
million 
 
6.  (C)  If Pakistani Army Aviation fails to maintain a 70 
percent availability rate, post questions how the GOP will 
sustain relief operations throughout the winter.  Many roads 
in the disaster area will soon be cut off by snow and/or 
future landslides.  Army Aviation's heavy-lift MI-17 fleet is 
the only realistic mechanism for delivering supplies to 
earthquake survivors in isolated areas. 
 
 
 
CROCKER