On Wednesday, Taliban military aircraft roared over the Afghan capital as the organization's defence ministry put recently repaired equipment—many of which were left behind by foreign troops and bought since the Taliban seized power a year ago—to the test.
Near the airport, helicopters and at least one jet, including what seemed to be at least one Russian-made MI-24 assault chopper and two other American-made aircraft, flew low over the skies of Kabul.
According to Enayatullah Khowarazmi, a spokesman for the defence ministry, the Taliban had recently refurbished some helicopters and were using the flyovers as a test. He would not confirm the particular make or place of origin, stating only that “all types of aircraft” were being tested.
It was not clear who had provided the technical expertise to repair the helicopters.
Taliban officials have said that pilots, mechanics and other specialists from the former Afghan National Army would be integrated into their security forces.
The defence ministry also said in a statement that its engineering team had recently repaired 35 tanks, 15 Humvee armoured vehicles and 20 U.S.-produced Navistar 7000 military vehicles.
All had been damaged as the Taliban took over the country in August 2021, the anniversary of which was marked on Monday with gatherings and gunfire by the hardline Islamist group.
U.S. troops destroyed more than 70 aircraft and dozens of armoured vehicles and disabled air defences before flying out of Kabul’s airport following a chaotic evacuation operation.
Between 2002 and 2017, the United States transferred to the Afghan government over $28 billion worth of defence articles and services, including weapons, ammunition, vehicles, night-vision devices, aircraft, and surveillance systems, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.
Some of the aircraft were flown into neighbouring Central Asian countries by fleeing Afghan forces a year ago, but the Taliban inherited left-over aircraft. It remains unclear how many are operational.