U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilots assigned to Task Force Flying Dragons, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, 7th Infantry Division land at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, June 9, 2017. BRIAN HARRIS/U.S. ARMY
U.S. forces have left behind radar and navigation systems as well as hundreds of vehicles at Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base.
After operating it for nearly 20 years, U.S. forces completed their withdrawal from the air base, which is located in the eastern province of Parwan, and handed it over to Afghan government forces on July 2.
On July 3, the Afghan Civil Aviation Authority revealed that the U.S. military left behind a Radar and a Very-Small-Aperture Terminal (VSAT) systems at the air base. The systems, which were deactivated by U.S. troops before withdrawal, were successfully reactivated by Afghan engineers.
Radar, Flight Guidance Systems Operational at Bagram Airfieldhttps://t.co/KccI54mUSe pic.twitter.com/CWjdXQziC5
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) July 4, 2021
According to the TOLO News, the U.S. military also left behind more than 700 vehicles of several types at the air base. Photos showing some of the vehicles were shared by the channel.
Photos: The US military pulled out of Bagram Airfield in Parwan province after nearly two decades, handing it over to Afghan security and defense forces. Radar and other flight-guiding systems were left behind, along with at least 700 vehicles. #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/yR2acYCflv
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) July 4, 2021
Before withdrawing, U.S. troops destroyed and scrapped hundreds of pieces of equipment and vehicles at the air base. Local merchants who purchased the material told the TOLO News that the scrap worth millions of dollars was left.
Bagram Air Base was the U.S. largest military installation in Afghanistan. Some 10,000 U.S. troops served at the air base over the last two decades.
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