Posted 11/12/07 16:15
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Lebanon May Get Old U.S. Trainers
By Riad Kahwaji
Beirut — Lebanese and American military officials may skirt policy restrictions to provide the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) with old trainers and close-air-support helicopters, according to officials on both sides.
“For some reason, U.S. policy does not permit providing Lebanon with offensive weapons, especially air power,” said a senior Lebanese military official. “But there is no problem with providing Lebanon with trainers, and hence we have decided to go for this option as a start.”
The LAF, which relies on aid from the United States and other nations, cannot seek new and advanced trainers on its limited budget.
An official at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut confirmed that of the few options considered, the best available trainer was the TA-3 Skywarrior.
“About three TA-3 trainers would likely be made available to Lebanon in the near future, but we don’t really know when,” said the U.S. official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to give an interview. “We might be able to send another two or three TA-3s later on but cannot be sure at this stage.”
Another official at the U.S. State Department confirmed the possible TA-3 transfer to Lebanon and said this would be a modest but helpful start for Lebanon’s air capabilities.
The LAF has no operational fixed-wing warplanes. Its five remaining Hawker Hunter jets are too old, and parts have been hard to locate.
“We need cartridges for the ejection seats before we can send the Hunters back in the air,” said the official. “We have looked just about everywhere, but with no luck.”
Another 11 Mirage-3 jets have been grounded since the late 1970s.
The LAF official said the presence of warplanes is important for the morale of the troops and would give the military an edge against the other militias in the country.
“We know the Hunters are old and we know the TA-3 is old, but for us it would be better than nothing,” he said. “Besides, the trainers would be given to the LAF more or less for free.”
The TA-3 was a U.S. tri-service large trainer that could also drop bombs.
“So long as the trainer we will get can carry bombs and attack ground targets, we will be very happy with it,” the LAF official said. “We hope this would be the first step before the U.S. is ready to supply us with F-16s.”
However, another Lebanese military official said the LAF command was still reviewing available options with the Americans.
“In addition to the TA-3, we are talking about other models, like the TA-4J Skyhawk,” he said.
Some analysts believe that giving the LAF trainers that are too old, like the TA-3 and TA-4, would be a bad idea.
“The U.S. and other countries that are interested in helping the Lebanese military should provide it with equipment that is not obsolete,” said Qassem Jaafar, a Middle East defense analyst. “Besides, the LAF will face the problem of finding spare parts, [which] it is already facing with most of its old hardware.”
The LAF had converted some of its UH-1H utility helicopters into bombers and used them in August to blast positions of the al-Qaida-affiliated Fatah Al-Islam terrorists in the Nahr Al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.
“At the U.S. military, we are now referring to the Lebanese Hueys as UH-1Bs — and the B stands here for bombers,” the American embassy official said.
Nizar Abdel Kader, a retired Lebanese Army brigadier general, said, “Lebanon must have an air force, and the international community must help it establish one in order to meet all the pending threats facing the country.”
Lebanese and U.S. military officials said talks were under way to deal with the LAF request for attack helicopters, and the two options being considered are the AH-1 Cobra and the OH-58 Kiowa.
“The Cobra is the LAF first choice but might face an obstacle with existing policy restriction because it is designated as an attack helicopter,” the U.S. Embassy official said. “The Kiowa, which is designated primarily as a reconnaissance helicopter with light attack capabilities, would be easier to pass the current export controls on Lebanon.”å
E-mail:
rkahwaji@defensenews.com.
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