Program Description | Budget | Other sites

Program description:

In 1997, the State Department's International Narcotics Control (INC) program began an effort, which it calls "Systems Support and Upgrades," to help countries maintain aircraft used for counternarcotics. While many of these maintenance costs had been covered previously as part of INC individual country programs, the Systems Support and Upgrades account was established to allow the INC program to standardize its services and support, while saving money by buying parts and equipment in larger quantities.¹

UH-1H Upgrade:

Twelve UH-1H "Huey" helicopters were delivered to Colombia's National Police in May 1997, as part of a weapons drawdown that the President authorized in September 1996. A General Accounting Office (GAO) reported that these helicopters "had an average of only 10 hours of available flying time left before substantial maintenance was required. By July 1997, the Colombian police reported that only 2 of the 12 helicopters were operational."²

The INC program is upgrading the helicopters by converting them to "Super Hueys," a configuration which, according to the program's 1999 Congressional Presentation, will "enhance their performance in the high altitude, hot climate environment of the Andean region."³

The UH-1H upgrades for Colombia cost $14 million during 1998.

C-26 Support:

Drawdowns in September and December 1996 distributed seventeen C-26 aircraft as follows, and two more are to be transferred to unspecified countries:

"The C-26," according to the GAO, "is a military version of the Fairchild metro 10-passenger turboprop aircraft used by the Air National Guard."⁴ The State Department adds that it "is known for its reliability and low operational costs, and can be configured for passenger, cargo, or MEDEVAC mode. C-26s with special surveillance pods are in use by the U.S. Air National Guard for counternarcotics surveillance."⁵

The C-26s were given with limited Defense Department training, and without guarantees of parts and maintenance. The Systems Support and Upgrades program, the 1999 INC Congressional Presentation states, will offer support for the C-26s "ranging from providing virtually everything for the Eastern Caribbean to a much more limited set of services for host government Air Forces."⁶

The INC program is also considering providing low-cost surveillance upgrades, which will allow the planes to observe drug crop cultivations and suspect drug-trafficking flights.

OV-10 Refurbishment:

The INC interregional aviation program will continue refurbishing 22 OV-10D airplanes it received from the Defense Department in 1997. The planes are used for the aerial eradication of coca and opium. "The OV-10 refurbishment program," reports the State Department, "will allow for major modification of these airframes to reduce weight and modernize electrical, avionics, cockpit configuration, and special mission equipment to take full advantage of the aircraft's capability and extend its useful life. These aircraft will have a full day/night eradication capability."⁷

Defensive Systems:

The INC program will continue providing defensive weapons for helicopters used for counternarcotics activities (eradication, interdiction, and search and rescue operations) in areas where hostile forces are present. The program is processing purchases of GAU-17 improved minigun systems to replace M-60D systems currently installed on INL aircraft.⁸

Budget:

(Thousands of U.S. dollars)

Other sites

• U.S. General Accounting Office. "Drug Control: U.S. Counternarcotics Efforts in Colombia Face Continuing Challenges." Report no. GAO/NSIAD-98-60, February 1998, p. 17.
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Sources

¹ United States, Department of State, Office of Resources, Plans and Policy, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 1999 (Washington: March 1998): 1120.

² United States, General Accounting Office, Drug Control: U.S. Counternarcotics Efforts in Colombia Face Continuing Challenges, document number GAO/NSIAD-98-60 (Washington: GAO, February 1998): 10 <http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/useftp.cgi?IPaddress=waisback.access.gpo.gov&filename=ns98060.txt&directory=/diskb/wais/data/gao> Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format <http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/useftp.cgi?IPaddress=waisback.access.gpo.gov&filename=ns98060.pdf&directory=/diskb/wais/data/gao>.

³ Department of State, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 1999 1121.

⁴ General Accounting Office, "U.S. Counternarcotics Efforts in Colombia" 37.

⁵ Department of State, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 1999 1120.

⁶ Department of State, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 1999 1120-1.

⁷ Department of State, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 1999 1121.

⁸ Department of State, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 1999 1121-2.

⁹ United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Congressional Presentation (Washington: Department of State: March 1998): 97.

¹⁰ United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2000 Budget Congressional Presentation (Washington: Department of State: March 1999): 97.

¹¹United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2001 Budget Congressional Presentation (Washington: Department of State: March 2000): 116 <http://www.state.gov/www/global/narcotics_law/fy2001_budget/latin_america.html>.

¹²United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2002 Budget Congressional Justification (Washington: Department of State: April 2001): 119 <http://www.state.gov/g/inl/rls/rpt/cbj/fy2002/index.cfm?docid=3702>.

¹³ United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2003 Budget Congressional Justification (Washington: Department of State: April 2002) <http://www.state.gov/g/inl/rls/rpt/cbj/fy2003/>.

¹⁴ United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2004 Budget Congressional Justification (Washington: Department of State: June 2003) <http://www.state.gov/g/inl/rls/rpt/cbj/fy2004/>.