Central Asia

Afghanistan

Historical significance

The Soviet Union fought in Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989 alongside the communist-led Afghan army against the mujahideen, who were backed above all by Pakistan and by the United States through Operation Cyclone. Most of the fighting was in the countryside, while the Soviets held the cities; between one and three million Afghans died. [1]

After the attacks of 11 September 2001 a US-led coalition invaded in Operation Enduring Freedom. [2] The first strikesStrike GlossaryJoint terms: An attack to damage or destroy an objective or a capability., on 7 October 2001, combined B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers, carrier-based F-14F-14 Tomcat AircraftThe Navy's swing-wing fleet defence fighter: two crew, AWG-9 radar and AIM-54 Phoenix. Tomcats and F/A-18F/A-18 Hornet AircraftA carrier-capable fighter and attack aircraft that one pilot can switch between roles on the same sortie. Hornets and Tomahawk cruise missiles from US and British ships and submarines. [3] The war that followed against the Taliban insurgency became the longest in US history, and it ended when the Taliban retook the country in 2021. [2]

Forces deployed

• Bagram Airfield, Parwan Province, about 40 km north of Kabul’s international airport: built by the Soviet Union in the 1950s and home in the 1980s to the 108th Motor Rifle Division and the 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment. [4] It became the largest US base in the country, with the Air Force’s 455th Air Expeditionary Wing as a major tenant, until US forces left it on the night of 1 July 2021; it fell to the Taliban on 15 August. [4]
• Kandahar Airfield: designed and built by American engineers in the early 1960s, used by the Soviets in the 1980s and, after repair and expansion from 2007, one of the largest operating bases in the country, able to hold up to 250 aircraft. [5]
• Camp Bastion, Helmand: built by the British Army in 2005–2006 as the logistics hub for operations in Helmand, with room for more than 32,000 people and a separate US camp, Camp Leatherneck, inside it. [6] On 14 September 2012 Taliban attackers destroyed six AV-8B HarriersAV-8B Harrier II AircraftA vectored-thrust jump jet: vertical or short take-off, flown by the US Marines for close air support. and a C-130 there. The camp was handed to Afghan forces in October 2014. [6]
• Camp Dwyer: a US Marine Corps camp in the Helmand River valley south-west of Garmsir, first a forward operating base and expanded in May 2009; it was in use from 2007 to 2021. [7]
• Shindand Air Base, Herat Province: built by the Soviets from 1961 and used heavily in their war, at various times by three fighter-bomber regiments. [8]