Video reportingly shows #Taliban captured Kunduz airport with #Afghanistan Air Force Mi-35 Hind attack helicopter
Location at Kunduz confirmed (36.66575, 68.91244)
14 July @planet satellite image (below) shows Mi-35 with rotor blades attached.
10 August @Maxar image confirms Mi-35 still in place yesterday but rotor blades removed - possibly to further disable it from future use.
How it started How it’s going
To be clear this a loss for #Afghanistan but does not equate to an operational attack helicopter for #Taliban
Though rotor blades are stored below this suggests further technical reasons airframe was left behind. Also would required trained ground & air crews to operate.
#Taliban reportedly shown with another non-operational #Afghanistan Air Force helicopter
#US supplied Bell MD-530F '289' was damaged in emergency landing in Bolan area, Helmand province 29 July.
#Taliban reportedly shown at captured Shindand Air Base, Herat Province with two #Afghanistan Air Force Mi-17 Hip helicopters undergoing maintenance and a room of spares parts.
This was not meant to become a thread on #Afghanistan lost air force... 🤦♂️
#Taliban reportedly with another #Afghanistan Air Force Mi-17 Hip Helicopter yesterday. (Some difficulty in confirm location and date of this however)
Another #Afghanistan Air Force Mi-17 Hip Helicopter reportedly yesterday - note absence of winch and different camo from example above.
Reportedly #Taliban at Ghazni with #US supplied Bell MD-530F and at least one UH-60 Blackhawk yesterday
Footage reportedly showing #Taliban at Kandahar airport #Afghanistan with 2 #US supplied UH-60 Blackhawk (one under maintenance, one on apron) and 2 stored Mi-17 Hip helicopters
Confirmation of Kandahar airport location (31.51086, 65.86269), geolocated with @planet 19 June satellite imagery
@planet Important to note recent @Maxar & @planet imagery indicates #Afghanistan Air Force managed to redeploy majority of operational aircraft away from #Taliban capture.
However for fixed-wing aircraft including armed A-29B & AC-208 they are fast running out of safe airbases.
While it appears the #Taliban may have captured some operable Mi-17 Hip helicopters (and potentially other types in future) their access to proficient air crews will remain a limiting factor - these are not forgiving 'pick up and play' platforms.
Further footage reportedly shows #Taliban at Kandahar airport with #Afghanistan Air Force #US supplied C-208 transport aircraft (not armed AC-208 variant) and MD-530F helicopter '300' (rotors removed)
Confirmation of Kandahar airport location (31.51154, 65.86429), geolocated with @planet 19 June satellite imagery
Reportedly #Taliban at Mazar-i-Sharif Air Base with another #Afghanistan Air Force MD-530F helicopter and significantly their first A-29B Super Tucano light strike aircraft (serviceability unknown)
Reportedly another image from Mazar-i-Sharif Air Base yesterday showing a further three #Afghanistan Air Force MD-530F helicopters
Amidst apparent desperation and chaos at #Kabul airport, remainder of #Afghanistan Air Force is also likely held up there. Indications some aircraft already left country but others may well be destroyed/disabled by departing forces to prevent capture (archive images)
"Uzbekistan's air defence forces prevented an attempt by an Afghan military aircraft to illegally cross Uzbekistan's border"
- #Uzbekistan defence ministry spokesman
The shot down A-29B Super Tucano is not believed to be the only #Afghanistan Air Force aircraft crossing the #Uzbekistan border in the last 24hrs, though what authorisations were given or not is unknown.
“However, during the escort, the Embraer 314 and MiG-29 aircraft collided and fell in the Sherabad district of the Surkhandarya region...”
- #Uzbekistan General Prosecutor's Office
Reportedly another #Afghanistan MD-530F at #Taliban captured Mazar-i-Sharif airport. If previous imagery accurate this would make at least five from this site alone.
Footage of two #Afghanistan UH-60 Blackhawk reportedly having landed in a field in #Uzbekistan
Amazing 16th August @planet satellite image shows the fleeing #Afghanistan Air Force aircraft that have appeared at Termuz #Uzbekistan in the last few of days
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
"A military source told Yonhap News Agency that the North appears to have test-fired a hypersonic missile, but the test is believed to have ended in failure after the missile flew some 250 kilometers." en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN202405…
KN-25 600mm guided MRLS rather than a 'traditional' SRBM is most likely candidate given trajectory (less depressed than norm 50km apogee given approaching max range) and volume of projectiles.
Although claimed as new by North Korea unclear how "Baasuri-6" differs from AShM first shown tested in 2017, aside from the octuple launcher first shown on parade in 2020
"Tongchang-ri area" implies a Sohae Satellite Launching Station launch site
Though static engine tests for military ballistic missiles continue to be conduct here, a test launch of an offensive ballistic missile from this site would be something new.