India's ambassador to Afghanistan Manpreet Vohra may shortly meet Afghan air chief, Lt Gen Mohammad Dawran, to figure out how India could help increase the lethality of Afghan air fighters against the Taliban and Pakistan's proxies in the war-torn country. AAF has got on lease a number of fighting helicopters from India which are said to be out of service now for lack of repairs and critical components. India is considering whether to pay for repairs to these grounded helicopters and transport planes. New Delhi estimates it would cost close to $50 million for new parts and repairs to 11 grounded Soviet-made Mi-35 helicopters and seven transport aircraft, after sending a team of experts to assess the Afghan air force's needs last year, the Indian ambassador to Kabul told Reuters. Afghanistan has repeatedly asked India to increase military assistance, as it struggles to fight Afghan Taliban insurgents who have taken swathes of territory since most foreign troops left the country in late 2014. New Delhi's readiness to provide more military help, while limited, underlines its desire to help Kabul as other regional powers including Russia and China look to increase their influence in Afghanistan. "We have been looking at the scale of the challenge the ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces) faces, particularly in one segment, close air support," ambassador Manpreet Vohra said in an interview in Kabul this week. "We are trying to see how we can help. They have a large number of attack helicopters and transport aircraft grounded for want of spares, for the expiry of certification," he said.