The Afghan National Air Corps, once fostered by the Soviet Union, was all but destroyed in 2001, at the beginning of the current Afghanistan War.FOX News: U.S. Resurrects Afghan Air Force It Once Helped Destroy (October 16, 2008) The fleet, rebuilt in 2008 with the help of the U.S. Military, now includes 29 aircraft, including refurbished 30-year-old Russian MI-17 helicopters.FOX News: U.S. Resurrects Afghan Air Force It Once Helped Destroy (October 16, 2008) The Corpse itself is comprised mostly of pilots old enough to have flown for the Soviet-backed regime, which fell in 1992.FOX News: U.S. Resurrects Afghan Air Force It Once Helped Destroy (October 16, 2008) Younger pilots are due to be trained in the U.S.FOX News: U.S. Resurrects Afghan Air Force It Once Helped Destroy (October 16, 2008)