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Military Ends Transport-Plane Contract, Setting Back Bid to Make Local Forces More Self-Sufficient

KABUL—The U.S. military said it has scrapped plans to equip the Afghan Air Force with a fleet of Italian-made transport planes, a major setback in an effort to build a more self-sufficient Afghan military as U.S.-led forces withdraw.

Ed Gulick, a U.S. Air Force spokesman, said in an emailed statement that the service on Dec. 18 notified Alenia Aermacchi North America, a unit of Italian defense conglomerate Finmeccanica that a contract to maintain and support 20 refurbished transport planes for the Afghan military wouldn't be renewed when it expires in March because Alenia didn't deliver enough flyable planes.

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