Overloaded aircraft started making their way north from Afghanistan to Central Asia on August 15, 2021, some low on fuel, all of the pilots and passengers high-priority targets for assassination by the Taliban.  On board were scores of pilots and crews determined to prevent the Taliban from capturing and using any flightworthy aircraft.  Uzbek authorities allowed the aircraft to land, in part because some were carrying wounded servicemen.  

Over the next month, about 400 Afghan pilots and passengers were housed in a camp by the Government of Uzbekistan, waiting for biometric scanning before being flown to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  In many cases, the Afghans had left without paperwork or identification, fleeing with the clothes on their backs, making documenting their identities for U.S. visas a slow process and problematic for Tashkent. As part of a deal reached with the U.S. Government, the Afghans were deported into U.S. custody and flown to the UAE.  Once in the UAE, the pilots and crews were vetted for U.S. visas and approval for onward resettlement into the United States.  The aircraft remained, seemingly forgotten, on Uzbek runways.

At almost three years to the day from their arrival, the United States has now officially transferred ownership of aircraft used by the former Afghanistan Air Force to Uzbekistan.  The planes were part of a makeshift evacuation in the final hours of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, ferrying pilots and Special Mission Wing personnel out of the country in a last-minute dash.  A mixture of 46 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft landed at Termez Airport in the neighboring Central Asian republic, the aircrafts’ fate undecided by the United States until it was announced on August 23.  

The aircraft have long been a sensitive issue, but the book should now close on a difficult period between Tashkent and Kabul.  Taliban officials repeatedly asked for and demanded the return of the aircraft, threatening even to retake them at one point.  Uzbek authorities steadfastly maintained that the planes and helicopters were property of the United States.  Over the next two years from their first arrival in Uzbekistan, significant speculation posited that the aircraft would be swapped for counter-terrorism cooperation, traded for U.S. basing rights, and even used to conduct “over-the-horizon” counterterrorism operations.  

In reality, over time, there was significant fear in Washington that the abandoned and unmaintained aircraft instead might no longer be airworthy and would be in need of expensive repair work.  The long duration over the fate of the equipment fueled conjecture in the press and the region.  However, through the current handover process, the United States has laid to rest the issue of ownership and disposition. 

News of a contract awarded on August 12 to defense contractor, Sierra Nevada Company, to restore the six Pilatus PC-12, single-engined, turboprop aircraft confirmed not only the need for maintenance, but also foreshadowed the intention of deepening security cooperation between Washington and Tashkent.  The $64.2 million repair bill is a new and significant fiscal commitment in a tight budget environment and would not logically be a standalone defense investment, given the range of aircraft being reassigned.  The aircraft consist of Mi-17 and UH-60 rotary-wing aircraft, as well as PC-12, C-208, AC-208 and A-29 fixed-wing planes.  

Some suggest the United States and the West have a waning interest in Central Asia, but the aircraft transfer seems to contradict this premise by providing for a next and potentially substantive chapter in security partnership between the United States and Uzbekistan.  While the content of any agreements between the two countries remains undisclosed, any transfer of U.S.-owned equipment would require significant bureaucratic approval, including excess defense authorization, Congressional and Executive branch review, possible foreign military financing budgeting and authorization, etc.  The aircraft transfer and attendant bureaucratic wrangling did not happen overnight and required a serious commitment from Washington.

The two countries this year will celebrate 32 years of diplomatic and defense relations, 22 years of strategic partnership, and 12 years of security partnership between Uzbekistan and the Mississippi National Guard.  Uzbekistan and the United States share a common interest in further enhancing bilateral military-to-military cooperation, as well as a shared interest in close collaboration on counterterrorism, border security, and defensive capacity building.  The transfer of aircraft to Uzbekistan will provide a significant opportunity to enhance the country’s defensive capabilities, deepen bi-lateral partnership with the United States, as well as bolster Tashkent’s own self-reliance in a tough neighborhood.