Overview
- Sources say the agreement for development and joint operation of Ayni expired around 2021 and was not renewed.
- India had already removed its contingent and all equipment by 2022, and the latest step formalizes the wind-down.
- Over two decades, India reportedly invested close to $100 million to extend the runway and add hardened shelters, fuel depots and a new air traffic control facility.
- The base underpinned India’s Afghanistan outreach, supporting the Northern Alliance and later facilitating evacuation flights in 2021 after the Taliban takeover.
- Ayni, west of Dushanbe near the Wakhan Corridor, saw temporary deployments of Su-30MKI fighters and helicopters, with peak Indian staffing reported at about 200 personnel.