Afghanistan Times
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KABUL – In a dramatic turn of events, Uzbekistan has handed over seven Black Hawk helicopters to the United States, aircraft that were originally part of the pre-Taliban Afghan army. The helicopters were flown to Uzbekistan by Afghan pilots fleeing the Taliban’s rapid takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, according to American diplomatic sources.
The transfer marks a significant development in the ongoing geopolitical tug-of-war over military assets left behind after the collapse of the US-backed Afghan government. While Kabul has demanded the return of the helicopters to Afghanistan, the US has been adamant about reclaiming its military equipment, with former President Donald Trump even urging the Taliban to return American weapons to Washington.
The Black Hawks, once symbols of the US’s $83 billion investment in the Afghan military over two decades, now stand at the center of a complex diplomatic dispute. The US had hoped to build a robust Afghan army capable of countering Taliban insurgency, but much of that effort crumbled in 2021 when the Taliban seized control of the country, capturing vast amounts of US-supplied weaponry and equipment.
“We have recovered these seven helicopters,” a source at the US embassy in Tashkent told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. The confirmation comes after the Uzbek branch of Voice of America reported the transfer, citing Pentagon officials who revealed that the helicopters had been out of service since their arrival in Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan, a Central Asian nation sharing a 144-kilometer border with Afghanistan, has remained tight-lipped about the handover. Requests for comment from Uzbek authorities went unanswered, reflecting the country’s tightly controlled information environment.
The Taliban, meanwhile, has not officially commented on the transfer but has previously called on Uzbekistan to return Afghan military assets. In August 2023, the Taliban’s defense ministry urged Tashkent to “cooperate in handing over Afghan air force planes,” underscoring its interest in reclaiming the equipment.
Satellite imagery from 2021, analyzed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), revealed that more than 45 Afghan aircraft were parked on the Uzbek side of the border during the Taliban’s advance. The fate of the remaining aircraft, which were not transferred to the US, remains shrouded in mystery.
