Tri-Service
£60 Million Spy Plane Left Sitting In Hangar
A multi-million pound spy plane kitted out for the skies of Afghanistan has been left ‘inoperable’ in a hangar in the United States.
The ATR 42-500 was bought by the U.S. Drugs Enforcement Agency (DEA) in 2008 to help fight the Afghan drugs trade.
The agency spent less than £7 million on the plane but almost £45 million fitting modifications and surveillance equipment.
They also built a customised hangar for the aircraft in Kabul.
A report by the Inspector General’s Office of the U.S. Justice Department said the plane was still resting on jacks, had never flown in Afghanistan and ‘remains inoperable’.
It was grounded after failing an inspection in 2014.
It’s unlikely to ever fly in the country but a DEA official said it would be used for anti-drug efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The report found that:
“The more than $86 million spent on the purchase and modification of the DEA's ATR 500 aircraft with advanced surveillance capabilities to support the DEA's counter-narcotics mission in Afghanistan has been an ineffective and wasteful use of government resources.”
Cover Image: U.S. Department Of Justice
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