| Shindand Airbase | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: OA5 – ICAO: OASD | |||
| Summary | |||
| Operator | Afghanistan Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation | ||
| Location | Shindand | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 3,773 ft / 1,150 m | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 18/36 | 9,140 | 2,700 | Concrete |
Shindand Air Base (ICAO: OASD) is located in the western part of Afghanistan in the Herat province, 7 miles northwest of the city of Sabzwar. The runway has a concrete surface. An all weather asphalt road connects it with the Farah - Herat highway, part of the National Ring Road.
Once the largest Afghan Air Force base, it is now used by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for humanitarian, training, and medical flights. The United States Air Force's 838th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group is based at Shindand AB supporting the ISAF mission.[1] Since 2008 the base has also been used by the CIA for secret surveillance missions over Iran and Afghanistan that have included use of ultra-top secret Sensitive Compartmented Information RQ-170 drone.[2]
Shindand is a Soviet-era base.
It was captured by the Taliban forces in 1997 and recaptured by the United States Air and Ground Cavalry in August 2004. Originally built in 1961, the Soviet-built runway sustained massive damage during bombing when coalition forces initially entered Afghanistan in 2002.
In 2010 the runway was refurbished so that it is able to support all Afghan National Army Air Force aircraft currently in use and opens western Afghanistan to larger fixed wing aircraft like the C-17 Globemaster III.[3]
In mid 2011 an expansion of the base was completed which tripled its size. Construction is scheduled to begin on a new 1.3-mile NATO training runway in early 2012.[4]