Two military aircraft repaired and activated: MoD

Afghan Air Force Command engineers have been able to repair a Russian Antonov AN32 military cargo plane and a C-208 aircraft, the ministry of defense said. 

Both planes successfully flew over Kabul, ministry of defense officials said. 

The AN32 aircraft, which works well in Afghanistan given the high altitude, will be used to fill gaps in the field of military transport, transfers, the ministry said.

According to the ministry Afghan Air Force technicians and engineers have also repaired several inactive and damaged aircraft.

Before the fall of the former government in August, Afghanistan had more than 164 active aircraft, a large number of which were flown out of the country. 

Only 81 were left behind, according to Afghan media reports.

Afghan air force personnel flew almost 50 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to Uzbekistan in mid-August as former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country and IEA forces overran the capital, Kabul. 

Several more aircraft and Black Hawk helicopters were taken to neighboring Tajikistan. 

IEA leaders have since insisted that the aircraft belong to Afghanistan and should be returned. 

But Ismatulla Irgashev, a senior adviser to Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, told VOA during a recent interview in Tashkent that the aircraft would not be going back to Kabul.

As of August 21, 2021, there were 46 aircraft in Uzbekistan and 18 in Tajikistan, the official said. These included Mi-17 UH-60 helicopters as well as PC-12, C-208, AC-208 and A-29 fixed-wing aircraft, VOA reported.