Urgent Air Lift Abroad – New Thinking on Existing Capabilities

The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East following the October Hamas attacks has completely upended conventional policy hopes for the region and has forced the global community to deal with yet another geopolitical crisis. As hostilities continue to flare, new thoughts have been stimulated on everything from preparedness, personal security, travel awareness, and contingency planning.

In fact, the assault by Hamas is the second time in just two years where a major unconventional quasi-military force – well-trained, well-equipped, and motivated – took the world community by surprise with a well-planned operation. The other was the Taliban’s lightning charge across Afghanistan in 2021, a campaign that resulted in the complete takeover of the country.

After watching these types of situations on repeat, where thousands of innocent people around the world – including Americans – get caught up in violence and chaos abroad and have few options for escape, one is forced to ask questions about how such situations can be avoided. Moreover, we must ask what might be needed in the way of more responsive rescue or transport options in the event of political upheaval, humanitarian crisis, or natural disaster.

In places where entire systems of travel are broken down or impeded in the wake of instability, the need for more urgent and flexible capabilities is especially important. Urgent travel to an airport might be difficult enough – if air travel isn’t an option because flights are canceled or the airport is inoperable, the situation rapidly degrades and appears bleak. But even if transport avenues remain in-country – and are simply focused on moving personnel away from danger until more extensive travel arrangements out of a country can be made – all these recent global events suggest that more novel thinking is needed.

In all of this, airlift options are key – and policymakers in Washington DC focused on global security may need to start thinking about how elements of the U.S. government (beyond the U.S. military) may be more closely pre-positioned in specific regions to ensure that rapid extraction options exist for Americans in need of immediate evacuation.     

Fortunately, options for ready go airlift rescue do exist, and they have been proven effective in numerous parts of the world. Here, the U.S. Dept. of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Air Wing stands out. INL’s Air Wing is both interesting and noble. Its original mission was – and to some extent, still is – to help battle vicious narcotics cartels operating around the globe. Understanding the critical role of aviation in combatting drugs and related threats, INL’s fleet has served valiantly in helping partner countries tackle drugs, transnational crime, and terrorism.

Here in early 2024, the INL Air Wing – if it properly resourced and capitalized – may be leveraged to address some of these wider search, rescue, and contingency transportation issues. In fact, the INL Air Wing has performed many rescue missions in the past, often on a fast-turn basis.  The Air Wing put in major flight hours in Afghanistan to help move people around out of harm’s way on the eve of the Taliban’s takeover in mid-2021. Clearly, the team at INL and their Air Wing have proven to be a can-do force multiplier for contingency operations in high-risk or sensitive regions.

Despite its great legacy and record of performance, the INL Air Wing is getting advanced in age – especially its rotary-wing fleet. A significant portion of the fleet is over a half-century old and the wear and tear from decades of flying is taking its toll on the Wing’s ability to execute their mission. That said, the mission and the requirements for the Air Wing remain in place. For example, the Air Wing continues to perform an important diplomatic transport mission in several nations – having more assets on-hand to help more Americans in need might be increasingly important moving ahead. Looking across the global landscape, the potential for future crisis situations to flare up and necessitate an all-hands response is more likely than not.

It is for all these reasons that decision-makers in DC should consider enhancing the INL Air Wing with modern, reliable, safe, cost-effective, and efficient rotary-wing aircraft. Recognizing the rumbling levels of instability around the world and understanding the importance of the Air Wing to the Dept. of State and to overall U.S. foreign policy, the importance of having a robust and diverse set of airlift options for urgent contingency response is real.

Miguel Alejandro Laborde is a former NCO in the 160th SOAR (A), and a subject matter expert on defense aviation programs, capabilities, and platforms, with decades’ worth of experience in the aerospace industry supporting the joint force.