US looks to send former Afghan aircraft to Central Asia for counterterrorism purposes

The United States is negotiating the transfer of 46 units of Afghan military aircraft to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

In exchange, Washington intends to enlist the assistance of these countries in the fight against terrorists in Afghanistan, Politico reports, citing sources in the US Department of Defense.

These are the planes that the pilots of the Afghan Air Force delivered to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan after the capture of Kabul by the Taliban.

Among them are C-208 aircraft, A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft, Mi-17, Mi-25 and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. The Taliban insist that the vehicles are Afghan property and demand their return. The authorities of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan claim that it is the property of the United States, and they refuse to return it.

Washington wants to use the planes "as leverage" to gain a foothold in a region where the US military is no longer present, Politico sources said. The United States intends to provide the governments of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan with several aircraft in exchange for an informal agreement to "deepen security relations" and fight terrorism.

Such a deal “could include anything from expanding intelligence sharing to deploying troops or aircraft in these countries in the long term”. For now, it is "most likely" that the agreement will include access to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan's intelligence on terrorist networks in Afghanistan.

The representative of the State Department did not comment on this information.