Афганские ВВС
The Afghan Air Force has been rebuilt from almost nothing at least four times since King Amanullah’s first aircraft arrived in the early 1920s — by Britain and Italy in the 1930s, by the Soviet Union from the 1950s, by the United States and NATO after 2001 — and each time it outlived the state that built it only in fragments: in 2026 FlightGlobal counts 34 aircraft in the air arm of the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate, while dozens of the Islamic Republic’s aircraft sit in Uzbekistan or have gone to the United States, Ukraine and Peru.
The Afghan Air Force story: King Amanullah’s aircraft, a war fought from the air and a Taliban air arm
1921–1937: King Amanullah’s aircraft, Soviet pilots and a civil war
King Amanullah Khan saw what aircraft could do when British India bombed Afghan forces in the Third Anglo-Afghan War of 1919, and from 1921 Soviet Russia and Britain gave him a handful of machines; Wikipedia records that Soviet Russia promised free aircraft in July 1921. They became a separate air arm in 1924 — Russian Wikipedia gives 22 August 1924 — and first flew in action against the Khost rebellion of 1924–25. For its first decade, English Wikipedia says, Soviet pilots did most of the flying and perhaps half the aircraft were Polikarpov R-1s, a Soviet copy of the de Havilland DH.9A. The weakness was dependence on foreign crews and on the king himself: most of the aircraft were destroyed in the civil war that began in December 1928 and toppled Amanullah, and serious rebuilding only began in 1937. Afghanistan’s air force therefore began as it would continue — built by outsiders, and hostage to the fate of the government in Kabul.
1937–1978: Hinds, then MiGs — the royal air force turns to Moscow
The second air force was British and Italian. The Shuttleworth Collection, which flies an ex-Afghan Hawker Hind, records a batch of 20 Hinds delivered in 1938, eight new and 12 from the RAF, thought to have served until 1956; Wikipedia adds IMAM Ro.37s and counts about 30 aircraft in 1938. After 1947 the service was the Royal Afghan Air Force. In the Cold War Afghanistan was non-aligned, but the aircraft came from Moscow: by 1960, Wikipedia says, it had about 100 combat aircraft, among them MiG-15 fighters and Il-28 bombers, while Afghan pilots trained in the United States, the Soviet Union, India and Europe. Mohammed Daoud, who deposed King Zahir Shah in 1973, brought in MiG-21s and An-24 and An-26 transports. It looked like modernisation; it also placed a Soviet-trained officer corps at the centre of the state, and that officer corps would soon take it over.
1978–1992: coup, invasion and a war fought from the air
On 27 April 1978 the air force made a revolution. Colonel Abdul Qadir flew to Bagram, took over the MiG-21 regiment, and Su-7s fired rockets into the Arg, the presidential palace, until President Daoud was dead; estimates of the dead range from about 40 (General Nabi Azimi) to about 2,000. In March 1979 Il-28s from Shindand bombed rebellious Herat, where estimates of the dead run from 3,000 to 25,000. After the Soviet invasion of December 1979 the air force grew to perhaps 400 aircraft in the mid-1980s by Wikipedia’s estimate, with regiments at Kabul, Bagram, Shindand and Kandahar, and Soviet, Czechoslovak and Cuban advisers. It bombed and strafed an insurgency backed from Pakistan; Pakistani F-16s, by the PAF’s count, shot down at least eight intruders from Afghanistan in 1986–88. Wikipedia, citing Müller (2020), puts the cost from 1978 to April 1992 at 617 aircraft and 651 aircrew. Air power kept Najibullah’s government alive after the Soviets left in 1989; it could not survive the end of Soviet money.
1992–2001: factions, the Taliban and a forced landing at Kandahar
When Kabul fell to the mujahideen in April 1992 the air force was split among the factions; Wikipedia estimates it fell from about 350 aircraft to some 35–40 serviceable ones. Abdul Rashid Dostum in the north kept his own air arm, and the Taliban, who took Kabul in 1996, inherited what was left at Kandahar and Kabul. Unusually for the movement, Wikipedia notes, they kept the air force’s old structure and invited former communist pilots to serve. By the late 1990s the Taliban air arm counted, by that estimate, five MiG-21MFs, ten Su-22s, a few Mi-8s and Mi-35s, five L-39Cs and transports. Its best-known exploit was the forcing down of a Russian Il-76 by a Taliban MiG-21 over Kandahar on 3 August 1995; its seven crew were held for a year and escaped with the aircraft on 16 August 1996. The US-led campaign from October 2001 destroyed most of what remained, leaving, in Wikipedia’s words, only a few helicopters.
2002–2021: the American rebuild, from G.222 to Black Hawk
The United States and NATO rebuilt the air force from 2005, as the Afghan National Army Air Corps until it was renamed the Afghan Air Force in June 2010. The first choices were poor: 20 Italian G.222 (C-27A) transports, bought for $486 million, could not be kept flying, and 16 were scrapped at Kabul in 2014 for about $32,000. What followed worked better: four C-130Hs from 2013, Cessna 208s and armed AC-208s, MD-530F helicopters from 2015, A-29 Super Tucanos from January 2016, and from September 2017 UH-60A Black Hawks to replace the Russian-supported Mi-17. On 22 March 2018 an Afghan A-29 dropped the service’s first laser-guided bomb. The cost was dependence of a new kind. SIGAR found that Afghan maintainers did at most 40 per cent of the work, and UNAMA recorded that in 2020 Afghan Air Force strikes caused 76 per cent of all civilian casualties from air strikes, the most it had attributed to the air force since 2009.
August 2021 to 2026: flight, collapse and a small Taliban air arm
The contractors left in May and June 2021 and, former generals told SIGAR, about 60 per cent of the Black Hawks were grounded within months. In July 2021 Wikipedia, citing SIGAR, counts 131 usable aircraft. When the Islamic Republic collapsed in August, pilots flew what they could north: Uzbekistan said 22 aircraft and 24 helicopters had entered its airspace, and more than 100 Afghan servicemen landed at Bokhtar in Tajikistan. The air arm of the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate, which most states do not recognise, has since repaired a few aircraft and lost several in crashes; FlightGlobal’s 2025 and 2026 directories list 34 aircraft, among them one A-29 and seven Black Hawks. In August 2024 the US ambassador said the aircraft in Uzbekistan would stay there, which the Taliban’s Ministry of Defence rejected. Since February 2026 the air arm has been at war with Pakistan, whose officials say their strike on Bagram destroyed Afghan aircraft; the Taliban said they struck back with drones. Neither side’s claims have been independently confirmed.
The Afghan Air Force in numbers
Услуга
- Название на родном языке
- قوای هوایی امارت اسلامی افغانستانDari name of the Islamic Emirate’s air force as given by English Wikipedia; Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي امارت هوایي ځواک. FlightGlobal calls it the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Air Force. Under the Islamic Republic it was the Afghan Air Force (قوای هوایی افغانستان). The Ministry of Defence’s own site could not be reached to confirm the spelling
- Основан
- 1924 (aircraft from 1921)Russian Wikipedia gives 22 August 1924 for the creation of the air force; English Wikipedia dates the service to 1921, when the first aircraft were promised by Soviet Russia, and says they became a separate air arm in 1924
- Часть
- Afghan Armed ForcesUnder the Ministry of Defence of the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate since August 2021, a government recognised by few states; before that under the Ministry of Defence of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
- Штаб-квартира
- КабулWikipedia gives Kabul; the air force headquarters sits beside Kabul’s international airport, known as Hamid Karzai International Airport until 2021
- Командир
- Amanuddin MansoorPer Wikipedia; appointment date and rank not confirmed from an official Afghan source
- Министр обороны
- Mohammad YaqoobTaliban defence minister; quoted in August 2024 warning Uzbekistan and Tajikistan over the aircraft flown there in 2021
Сила
- Aircraft (2025–2026)
-
- Mi-8/Mi-17 — 7
- UH-60A Black Hawk — 7
- Cessna 208 — 6
- MD530F — 5
- Mi-24 — 4
- An-32 — 2
- A-29 Super Tucano, An-26, L-39 — 1 each
34 in all, FlightGlobal World Air Forces 2025; Wikipedia cites the 2026 edition for the same figures. These are estimates by an outside publisher; the Taliban have not published a fleet list
- Персонал
- 7,505 in May 2020 under the Islamic Republic, per SIGAR as cited by Wikipedia. The Taliban-led ministry said about five former pilots had returned by 6 February 2022
- Aircraft in July 2021
- 131 usableSIGAR as cited by Wikipedia: 23 A-29, 3 C-130, 23 C-208, 10 AC-208, 12 Mi-17, 28 UH-60 and 42 MD 530; Wikipedia also gives 161 aircraft in all. The War Zone quotes SIGAR’s July 2021 figures as 13 Mi-17s and 49 MD 530Fs, so counts differ by source and by what is counted as usable
- Flown out in August 2021
- 46 to Uzbekistan, more to TajikistanUzbekistan reported 22 aircraft and 24 helicopters; Wikipedia adds two aircraft with more than 100 soldiers at Bokhtar, Tajikistan. The War Zone estimated about a quarter of the inventory escaped
- US investment 2005–2021
- About 300 aircraftSIGAR: the US provided the Afghan forces with about 300 aircraft as part of nearly $90 billion in security assistance
- Максимальная сила
- About 400 aircraft (mid-1980s)Wikipedia’s estimate; a Soviet-era status report cited by Wikipedia gives 226 aircraft and 89 helicopters on 1 February 1986, and Russian Wikipedia about 7,000 personnel in 1985
Инфраструктура
- Главные аэродромы
-
- Kabul — air force headquarters
- Bagram — the largest base, US-held 2001–2021
- Kandahar
- Shindand — former training base
- Mazar-i-Sharif
- Herat
Wikipedia’s list of bases; Jalalabad, Khost and Kunduz were used by helicopters. Which fields the Taliban air arm flies from today has not been published officially
- Soviet-era regiments
- Kabul, Bagram, Shindand, Kandahar, DehdadiPer Wikipedia: 322nd and 321st regiments at Bagram, 335th and 355th at Shindand, 366th at Kandahar, 232nd and 377th at Kabul, 393rd training regiment at Dehdadi (Balkh)
- NATO training mission
- Resolute Support, 2015–2021Hub at Kabul and Bagram, spokes at Mazar-e Sharif, Herat, Kandahar and Laghman; ended September 2021
- Bagram in 2026
- Struck by Pakistan, 1 March 2026Pakistani officials said the strike destroyed an unknown number of Black Hawks, C-130s and Super Tucanos (as reported by The New York Times and summarised by Wikipedia); no Taliban confirmation was found
How the Afghan Air Force is organised
Since August 2021 the air arm of the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate, a government not recognised by most states, has been run from Kabul under its Ministry of Defence. FlightGlobal counts 34 aircraft, among them one A-29, seven Black Hawks, seven Mi-8/17s and a single L-39; the Taliban have not published a fleet list or which fields each type flies from. Under the Islamic Republic, until August 2021, the Afghan Air Force had wings at Kabul, Kandahar, Shindand and Mazar-i-Sharif.
Air force headquarters
In Kabul, beside the international airport, under the Ministry of Defence of the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate since August 2021, a government not recognised by most states. Wikipedia names Amanuddin Mansoor as air force commander; his rank and appointment date were not confirmed. The defence minister is Mohammad Yaqoob.
Mazar-e-Sharif Air Brigade
The one air unit of the Islamic Emirate named in the sources, reported repairing an A-29 at Mazar-i-Sharif in 2023. FlightGlobal counts 34 aircraft in the air arm, among them seven Black Hawks and seven Mi-8/17s; its other units and their bases have not been published.
Air wings of the Afghan Air Force
Under the Islamic Republic the air force had wings at Kabul, Kandahar, Shindand and Mazar-i-Sharif, flying A-29s, C-130Hs, Cessna 208s, MD-530Fs and Black Hawks supplied by the United States. It ended as a state institution when Kabul fell on 15 August 2021; of the 46 aircraft flown to Uzbekistan, seven Black Hawks were moved to the United States in 2025.
Air regiments
The 322nd and 321st regiments at Bagram, the 335th and 355th at Shindand, the 366th at Kandahar, the 232nd and 377th at Kabul and the 393rd training regiment at Dehdadi, per Wikipedia. The air force was split among the factions when Kabul fell to the mujahideen in April 1992.
What the Afghan Air Force flies today
Все виды, находящиеся под прицелом, имеют ссылку на соответствующую страницу в Книге Зверей, если таковая имеется. В статистике учитываются самолеты, находящиеся в резерве, а не самолеты, доступные в конкретный день.
| Тип | Роль | В эксплуатации | С | Единицы | Примечания | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ми-8/Ми-17В эксплуатации | Транспортный вертолет | 7 | 7 per FlightGlobal (2025; same in 2026 per Wikipedia). SIGAR counted 12–13 usable Mi-17s in July 2021; The War Zone counted about 19 Mi-8/17-type helicopters at Termez in August 2021. | |||
| Sikorsky UH-60A Black HawkВ эксплуатации | Вертолёт общего назначения | 7 | 2017 | 7 per FlightGlobal 2025. SIGAR as cited by Wikipedia: 28 usable in July 2021. 53 requested for FY2017. | ||
| Cessna 208 Caravan (C-208 and armed AC-208)В эксплуатации | Light transport and armed reconnaissance | 6 | 6 per FlightGlobal 2025. SIGAR as cited by Wikipedia: 23 C-208s and 10 AC-208s usable in July 2021; at least five were seen at Termez. | |||
| MD Helicopters MD 530F Cayuse WarriorВ эксплуатации | Легкий ударный вертолет | 5 | 2015 | 5 per FlightGlobal 2025. 42 (Wikipedia citing SIGAR) or 49 (The War Zone citing SIGAR) in July 2021. | ||
| Mil Mi-24/Mi-35 HindВ эксплуатации | Ударный вертолет | 4 | 4 per FlightGlobal 2025 (listed as Mi-24; Wikipedia’s table calls them Mi-25). Late-1990s Taliban inventory: five Mi-35s (Wikipedia). | |||
| Антонов Ан-32В эксплуатации | Транспорт | 2 | 2 per FlightGlobal 2025. | |||
| Антонов Ан-26В эксплуатации | Транспорт | 1 | 1975 | 1 per FlightGlobal 2025; the late-1990s Taliban air arm had about 25 by Wikipedia’s count. | ||
| Embraer/Sierra Nevada A-29 Super TucanoВ эксплуатации | Легкая атака | 1 | 2016 | 1 per FlightGlobal 2025.
БолееDelivered: 22 by September 2020 with six more due (Resolute Support); 24 with the Moody training aircraft (DoD, December 2020); 23 usable in July 2021 (SIGAR via Wikipedia). |
||
| Аэро Л-39 АльбатросВ эксплуатации | Учебно-тренировочный реактивный самолет | 1 | 1 per FlightGlobal 2025; the late-1990s Taliban air arm had five L-39Cs (Wikipedia). |
Every type the Afghan Air Force has retired
13 types, from the Polikarpov R-1 to the Lockheed C-130H Hercules. Максимальные показатели — это количество самолетов, принятых на вооружение за весь срок службы, а не численность парка на какую-либо конкретную дату.
| Тип | Роль | Пик | Подано | Заменено на | Примечания | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lockheed C-130H Hercules | Тактический транспорт | 4 | 2013–2021 | Four delivered 2013–2015; three usable in July 2021 (SIGAR via Wikipedia). FlightGlobal lists none in 2025. | ||
| Пилатус PC-12NG | Surveillance (Special Mission Wing) | 18 | 18 with the Special Mission Wing per Wikipedia (61 per cent operational in July 2020); about 11 were seen at Termez in August 2021. | |||
| Alenia G.222 (C-27A Spartan) | Тактический транспорт | 20 | С-130Х | 20 bought for $486 million; 16 scrapped at Kabul in 2014, four stored at Ramstein. | ||
| Sukhoi Su-7, Su-17 and Su-22 | Истребитель-бомбардировщик | Wikipedia’s mid-1980s estimate: 60 Su-7s and Su-17s plus more than 45 Su-22s; ten Su-22s with the Taliban in the late 1990s. | ||||
| Микоян-Гуревич МиГ-21 | Боец | 45 | About 45 in the mid-1980s (Wikipedia estimate); five MiG-21MFs with the Taliban in the late 1990s; Russian Wikipedia says the Taliban acquired 15. | |||
| Hawker Hind | Легкий бомбардировщик | 20 | 1938–1956 | 20 delivered in 1938, 8 new and 12 ex-RAF. | ||
| Поликарпов Р-1 | Разведывательный биплан | 1924–1929 | Probably about half the aircraft of the 1920s, per Wikipedia. | |||
| МиГ-17 Микояна-Гуревича | Истребитель-бомбардировщик | 90 | Wikipedia’s peak estimate of 90; to be treated as an order of magnitude. | |||
| МиГ-19 Микояна-Гуревича | Боец | |||||
| МиГ-15 Микояна-Гуревича | Боец | |||||
| Ильюшин Ил-28 | Легкий бомбардировщик | One Wikipedia article gives 45 at the peak; the Afghan Air Force article does not, so the number is left open. | ||||
| Antonov An-2, An-12 and An-24 | Транспорт | About 40 An-2, An-24 and An-26 transports in the mid-1980s and six An-12s with the Taliban in the late 1990s (Wikipedia estimates). | ||||
| IMAM Ro.37 | Разведывательный биплан |
Where the Afghan Air Force flies from
Черные значки обозначают действующие базы, полые значки — закрытые аэродромы. Bagram, the largest US base in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021, has been held by the Taliban since 15 August 2021, and Pakistani officials said they struck it on 1 March 2026. The active fields have been under the Islamic Emirate since August 2021; Dehdadi, the training airfield of the 1980s in Balkh, is listed as closed because its current status could not be established. Entries with no published aerodrome data carry no pin.
Афганистан
One of the 7 bases above sits outside Afghanistan, so the world map has to pull back until the home airfields cannot be told apart. The same pins again, without the overseas base.
| База | ИКАО | Статус | Взлетная полоса | Подразделения и самолеты |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| БаграмПровинция Парван | OAIX | Активный | 03R/21L3,724 mконкретный03L/21R2,953 mконкретный |
|
| Herat International AirportHerat Province | OAHR | Активный |
|
|
| Jalalabad AirportNangarhar Province | OAJL | Активный | 13/312,213 m |
|
| Kabul International AirportKabul Province | OAKB | Активный | 11/293,511 mасфальтированный |
|
| Kandahar International AirportKandahar Province | OAKN | Активный | 05/233200 м |
|
| Mazar-i-Sharif International AirportBalkh Province | OAMS | Активный |
|
|
| ShindandHerat Province | OASD | Активный | 18/362,417 mконкретный |
|
| DehdadiBalkh Province | Закрыто |
|
Ни одна авиабаза не соответствует этому поисковому запросу.
Who is stationed where in the Afghan Air Force
Авиационные подразделения по базам, начиная с действующих подразделений. Three generations are listed: the Soviet-era regiments to 1992, the Islamic Republic’s numbered wings to 2021 — the Kabul Air Wing was the 1st, Kandahar the 2nd — and the air arm of the Islamic Emirate, whose units are largely unpublished. Foreign units, such as the Soviet 368th Assault Aviation Regiment and the US 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram, are marked as foreign.
- Военно-воздушные силы Исламского ЭмиратаAir force detachment · active
- 322nd Fighter Air Regiment
- Микоян-Гуревич МиГ-21
- 321st Air Regiment
- 368th Assault Aviation Regiment (Soviet Air Force)1986–1987
- Сухой Су-25
- Air arm of the Islamic Emirate (headquarters)штаб ВВС · действующий
- Kabul Air Wing (1st Wing, earlier 201st)
- Embraer A-29 Super Tucano, Lockheed C-130H Hercules, Alenia G.222 (C-27A)
- 232nd Air Regiment
- 377th Helicopter Regiment
- Kandahar Air Wing (2nd Wing, earlier 202nd)
- Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawk
- 366th Fighter Air Regiment
- 451st Air Expeditionary Wing (US Air Force)
- Shindand Air Wing (3rd Wing)
- Training aircraft and helicopters
- 335th Mixed Air Regiment
- 355th Fighter-Bomber Air Regiment
- Sukhoi Su-7BM, Sukhoi Su-17/Su-22
- Mazar-e-Sharif Air BrigadeAir brigade · active
- Embraer A-29 Super Tucano
- Mazar-i-Sharif Air Wing (4th Wing, earlier 304th)
- Afghan Air Force detachment, Herat
- Mi-24 squadron (Afghan Air Force)
- Ми-24
- Forward Operating Base Fenty (US forces)
- US Army aviation
Поисковое задание не дало результатов.
Afghan Air Force milestones, 1914 to today
Soviet Russia promises aircraft to King Amanullah Khan in July; the first machines arrive from Soviet Russia and Britain.
22 August: the air force is created as a separate arm (Russian Wikipedia). It first sees action against the Khost rebellion of 1924–25.
December: civil war begins; most of the aircraft are destroyed and the air force is dissolved in 1929.
20 Hawker Hinds delivered, 8 new and 12 ex-RAF; with Italian Ro.37s the air force counts about 30 aircraft.
The Royal Afghan Air Force has about 100 combat aircraft, including MiG-15s and Il-28s.
27 April: Su-7s from Bagram rocket the Arg palace in the Saur Revolution; President Daoud is killed.
March: Il-28s bomb Herat during the uprising. 25 December: Soviet forces enter Afghanistan.
1 February: 226 aircraft and 89 helicopters on strength, 19,400 personnel (Soviet-era figures cited by Wikipedia). From May, Pakistani F-16s begin shooting down intruders from Afghanistan.
15 February: the last Soviet troops leave; the air force keeps Najibullah’s government in the war.
6 March: pilots loyal to Defence Minister Shahnawaz Tanai bomb Kabul in a failed coup.
April: Kabul falls to the mujahideen; the air force splits among factions after losing 617 aircraft since 1978 (Wikipedia, citing Müller).
3 August: a Taliban MiG-21 forces a Russian Il-76 to land at Kandahar; the crew escape with it on 16 August 1996.
October–November: the US-led campaign destroys most Taliban aircraft.
June: the Afghan National Army Air Corps is renamed the Afghan Air Force.
15 January: the first four A-29 Super Tucanos arrive in Kabul.
18 September: the first four UH-60 Black Hawks arrive at Kandahar.
August: the Islamic Republic collapses; 46 aircraft reach Uzbekistan and others Tajikistan. The Taliban take over what is left.
21 February: war with Pakistan begins; Pakistani officials say a strike on Bagram on 1 March destroyed Afghan aircraft.
Во всех войнах, в которых участвовали афганские ВВС.
Вылеты и поражения там, где это указано в протоколе, и полная пустота там, где этого нет.
- Хостское восстание 1924–1925 The new air arm’s first action, against a tribal rising in the south-east
- Афганская гражданская война 1928–1929 Flew for King Amanullah against the rebellion that overthrew him
- Революция зауров 1978 Communist officers seized Bagram and attacked the presidential palace from the air
- Советско-афганская война 1979–1992 Close support, bombing and transport for the government and Soviet forces against the mujahideen
- Афганские гражданские войны 1992–2001 Remnants of the air force fought for rival factions; from 1996 the Taliban flew MiG-21s and Su-22s against the Northern Alliance
Afghan Air Force news from Afterburner
Everything MiGFlug’s magazine has published on the Afghan Air Force and the aircraft it flies. Этот список обновляется автоматически — новые статьи Afterburner появляются здесь автоматически.
Everything people ask about the Afghan Air Force
Does Afghanistan still have an air force?
What is the Afghan Air Force called in Pashto and Dari?
When was the Afghan Air Force founded?
What happened to the Afghan Air Force in August 2021?
What happened to the Afghan aircraft flown to Uzbekistan?
Did Afghan Mi-17s end up in Ukraine?
How big was the Afghan Air Force in the Soviet era?
Why did the US give the Afghan Air Force Super Tucanos instead of jets?
What was the G.222 scandal?
Has the Taliban air force lost aircraft since 2021?
Read the aircraft the Afghan Air Force flew
Каждый тип корабля, имеющий свою страницу в Книге Зверей, сначала поступивший на вооружение, а затем — по году вывода из состава флота.
Все факты проверены.
- Shuttleworth Collection: Hawker Hind20 Hinds delivered to the Afghan Air Force in 1938 (8 new, 12 ex-RAF), thought to have served until 1956; the Shuttleworth example was recovered in 1971 and flew again in Afghan colours on 17 August 1981.
- FlightGlobal: Мировые военно-воздушные силы 2025"Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Air Force": 1 A-29, 1 An-26, 2 An-32, 6 Cessna 208, 5 MD530F, 7 Mi-8/17, 4 Mi-24, 7 S-70/UH-60A, 1 L-39 in active service; nothing on order. Wikipedia cites World Air Forces 2026 for the same list.
- FlightGlobal: First of 20 A-29 Super Tucanos arrive in Afghanistan (15 January 2016)Four A-29s landed at Hamid Karzai International Airport; 20 aircraft under the $427 million Light Air Support contract, built by Sierra Nevada and Embraer in Jacksonville; all 20 expected by 2018; they replaced retiring Mi-35s.
- US Air Force: First A-29 Afghan pilots graduate, ready for combat (18 December 2015)The first Afghan class of the 81st Fighter Squadron graduated at Moody AFB; classroom training began February 2015, flying March 2015.
- Министерство обороны США: Укрепление безопасности и стабильности в Афганистане (декабрь 2020 г.)Шесть самолетов A-29, использовавшихся для тренировок на авиабазе Муди, были отправлены в Афганистан, увеличив таким образом флот до 24 самолетов; ВВС США могли планировать и наносить удары днем и ночью самостоятельно, но полагались на логистическую поддержку подрядчиков.
- US Department of Defense: Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan (June 2019)TAAC-Air priorities listed the C-130, C-208, A-29 and AC-208 fixed-wing and Mi-17, UH-60A and MD-530 rotary-wing platforms.
- SIGAR 23-16-IP: Почему афганские силы безопасности потерпели крах (февраль 2023 г.)США предоставили около 300 самолетов; ожидалось, что ВВС США станут самодостаточными не раньше 2030 года; афганские специалисты по техническому обслуживанию выполняли не более 40 процентов работ; бывшие генералы заявили, что около 60 процентов вертолетов Black Hawk были выведены из эксплуатации в течение нескольких месяцев после ухода подрядчиков в 2021 году; пилоты ВВС США перегнали несколько самолетов в Центральную Азию.
- АНАМА: Защита гражданского населения Афганистана в условиях вооруженного конфликта, Ежегодный доклад за 2020 годВ 2020 году в результате авиаударов погибло 693 мирных жителя (341 убит, 352 ранены); число жертв авиаударов ВВС Афганистана увеличилось на 126 процентов, что является самым высоким показателем с момента начала систематического документирования в 2009 году, и составляет 76 процентов от всех жертв авиаударов среди гражданского населения.
- Миссия НАТО «Решительная поддержка» в Афганистане (2015–2021 гг.)Миссия осуществлялась с 1 января 2015 года по сентябрь 2021 года; центр в Кабуле/Баграме и филиалы в Мазари-Шарифе, Герате, Кандахаре и Лагмане; решение о выводе принято 14 апреля 2021 года.
- Зона боевых действий: Десятки закупленных США самолетов ВВС Афганистана оказались брошенными на узбекском аэродроме (18 августа 2021 г.)Спутниковый снимок от 16 августа 2021 года в Термезе: 22 самолета и около 24–26 вертолетов, в том числе не менее шести А-29, не менее пяти С-208/АК-208, около 11 ПК-12НГ, около семи UH-60 и около 19 Ми-8/17; один А-29 потерян в Узбекистане, предположительно после столкновения с узбекским МиГ-29; Узбекистан заявил, что 46 самолетов были вынуждены совершить посадку.
- The War Zone: Dozens of Afghan helicopters have now arrived at the U.S. Air Force’s boneyard (10 December 2021)24 helicopters (7 Mi-17s and 17 MD 530Fs) at Davis-Monthan; SIGAR’s July 2021 figures of 13 Mi-17s and 49 MD 530Fs; Taliban captured at least 12 Mi-17s in varying condition.
- Зона боевых действий: Афганские пилоты, бежавшие в Таджикистан, наконец-то собираются покинуть страну при помощи США (10 ноября 2021 г.)В Таджикистане находилось около 150 военнослужащих ВВС США; примерно четверть всего личного состава ВВС США бежала в Узбекистан и Таджикистан.
- The War Zone: Ex-Afghan Air Force Mi-17 helicopters are now flying for Ukraine (2 June 2022)Five Mi-17s in Ukraine for overhaul in August 2021 were given to Ukraine in March 2022; with the 1 June 2022 package the total transferred or promised reached 20.
- The Diplomat: Афганские пилоты, задержанные в Таджикистане, наконец-то освобождены (ноябрь 2021 г.)9 ноября 2021 года 191 афганец, 143 из которых были пилотами, были доставлены из Таджикистана в ОАЭ после почти трех месяцев пребывания в общежитии и санатории; представитель талибов Забихулла Муджахид заявил, что планов по их аресту нет.
- Khaama Press: США и Узбекистан договорились о поставке военных самолетов в Афганистан (27 августа 2024 г.)Посол США Джонатан Хеник: техника останется в Узбекистане; типы Ми-17, UH-60, PC-12, C-208, AC-208, A-29; Узбекистан сообщил о наличии 22 самолетов и 24 вертолетов 15 августа 2021 года; министр обороны талибов Мохаммед Якуб предупредил Узбекистан и Таджикистан.
- Khaama Press: Afghanistan rejects US-Uzbekistan deal on former government aircraft (27 August 2024)Taliban-led Ministry of Defence: any deal on the aircraft in Uzbekistan is unacceptable; Henick: the aircraft never belonged to the Afghans, the US owned them.
- Khaama Press: 7 former Afghanistan army Black Hawk helicopters transferred from Uzbekistan to US (5 February 2025)Announced by Uzbekistan’s ambassador Furkat Sidikov in Washington; the Taliban called the helicopters the property of the Afghan people.
- Khaama Press: Transfer of Afghanistan’s Black Hawk helicopters from Uzbekistan to Peru (15 December 2025)Citing a Ukrainian website: nine Black Hawks went to Peru in 2024; Uzbek authorities say the helicopters belong to the United States; the Taliban demand their return.
- Khaama Press: Helicopter crash in northern Afghanistan kills two pilots (21 May 2023)Ministry of Defence: an MD-530 hit a high-voltage line in Khulm district, Samangan, killing two pilots; also recalls a Black Hawk crash during training in Kabul on 10 September 2022 that killed at least three.
- Khaama Press: Several dead and injured in Taliban helicopter crash in Ghor (15 May 2024)Mi-17 on a body-recovery mission crashed into a wall in Feroz Koh after technical problems: 1 killed, 12 injured, per MoD spokesman Enayatullah Khwarazmi.
- Khaama Press: Helicopter damaged in Badakhshan, Ministry of Defense says (14 August 2026)A Ministry of Defence helicopter was damaged on landing in Badakhshan when a rotor struck a pole (headline and summary only; the full article could not be loaded).
- Khaama Press: Resolute Support hands over 4 military aircraft to Afghan Air Force (17 September 2020)Four A-29s handed over, bringing the total delivered to 22, with six more to come; Defence Minister Asadullah Khalid.
- Khaama Press: Обзор лёгкого штурмовика A-29 Super Tucano ВВС США (16 апреля 2016 г.)Восемь самолетов A-29 находятся на вооружении, последние четыре были приняты на вооружение в конце марта 2016 года; Министерство обороны: не менее 83 вылетов за два дня.
- Khaama Press: Афганские ВВС сбросили первую управляемую лазером бомбу на талибов в Фарахе (28 марта 2018 г.)22 марта 2018 года: по данным операции «Решительная поддержка», самолет А-29 сбросил управляемую лазером бомбу GBU-58 на базу талибов в Фарахе.
- Khaama Press: Fourth C-130 touches down in Kabul (23 June 2015)Two C-130s arrived in mid-2013, a third in summer 2014 and the fourth on 20 June 2015; the AAF’s first four-engined aircraft (Lt. Col. Tyler Faulk, CSTC-A).
- Khaama Press: US-funded $486m Afghan C-27s turned into $32,000 of scrap metal (10 October 2014)20 G.222s bought for $486 million; 16 scrapped at Kabul for about $32,000 (about 6 cents a pound), four stored at Ramstein; SIGAR’s John Sopko questioned the Pentagon.
- Khaama Press: First batch of Black Hawks for Afghan Air Force arrive in Kandahar (19 September 2017)Four UH-60s arrived at Kandahar Airfield on 18 September 2017; $814.5 million requested in FY2017 for 53 UH-60s to replace the Mi-17; Gen. Votel’s plan also listed 30 MD-530Fs, 6 A-29s and 5 AC-208s.
- Khaama Press: India has transferred 8 Mi-35 helicopters to Afghan Air Force: Pentagon (14 July 2019)Pentagon report: India transferred eight Mi-35s, four in 2015–2016 and four in 2018.
- Khaama Press: MD-530 успешно дебютировал в боевых условиях в Нангархаре (15 августа 2015 г.)Шесть самолетов MD-530 были поставлены в первом квартале 2015 года; 16 ожидаются к началу 2016 года; боевой дебют состоялся в Нангархаре.
- Министерство обороны Хорватии: Завершены учения для 15-й эскадрильи ВВС Хорватии по борьбе с терроризмом (KFOR) и 10-й эскадрильи противотанковых ракетных комплексов Ми-17 ISAF (февраль 2014 г.).Хорватская группа воздушного консультативного командования Ми-17 обучала пилотов и экипажи ВВС Афганистана в рамках ISAF.
- Khaama Press: Super Tucano once again wins US bid for Afghan air force (28 February 2013)Search-result summary only: the Afghan military will receive 20 A-29 Super Tucanos after the re-awarded competition.
- Khaama Press: Super Tucano A-29 aircraft successfully repaired by Mazar Air Brigade team (16 May 2023)Search-result summary only (the full article could not be loaded): an A-29 had been repaired and was ready for operation.
- Air Force Historical Research Agency: 455 Air Expeditionary Wing (ACC)Official lineage: redesignated 26 July 2002, stationed at Bagram from that date; aircraft types.
- Al Jazeera: US left Afghan airfield at night, didn’t tell new commander (5 July 2021)Gen. Mir Asadullah Kohistani; looting; soldiers’ reaction. The article’s figure of up to 100,000 US troops is not used.
- Al Jazeera: Regional powers signal objection to US reclaiming Afghanistan’s Bagram base (8 October 2025)Moscow Format statement of 7 October 2025; Muttaqi quote.
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