The United States has transferred a new batch of former Afghan UH-60A+ Black Hawk helicopters to Peru, continuing the redistribution of aircraft that were flown out of Afghanistan during the collapse of the previous government in 2021.
According to Afghan media reports, three Black Hawk helicopters that had previously belonged to the Afghan military were transferred by Washington to Peru for use in police operations and transport missions. This marks the second such transfer, following an earlier batch of three helicopters delivered in May.
The aircraft are believed to be part of a group of seven Black Hawks that Uzbekistan transferred to the United States in February, following diplomatic pressure from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Uzbekistan had held the helicopters since August 2021, when Afghan pilots flew dozens of military aircraft across the border during the rapid collapse of the former Afghan National Army (ANA).
During that period, Afghan pilots evacuated a wide range of aircraft, including U.S.-made helicopters, Russian-origin platforms, and fixed-wing aircraft, to neighboring countries, primarily Uzbekistan. Those aircraft were interned by Uzbek authorities and later became the subject of ongoing disputes over their legal ownership.
The Taliban-led government in Kabul has repeatedly demanded that Uzbekistan return the aircraft, arguing that they remain the property of Afghanistan’s armed forces, which continue to exist under the name “Islamic National Army of Afghanistan.” Afghan officials have maintained that the change in government does not alter the ownership status of the military equipment.
In February, shortly after President Trump returned to office, Uzbekistan handed over the seven Black Hawk helicopters it held to the United States. Since then, Washington has moved to reassign the aircraft rather than return them to Afghanistan, with Peru now receiving six of the seven helicopters in two separate transfers.
The redistribution of the helicopters comes against the backdrop of continued political fallout from the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. President Trump has repeatedly criticized the withdrawal and the volume of U.S.-supplied military equipment left behind. In February, he instructed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to initiate a review aimed at identifying and potentially recovering U.S. military equipment remaining in Afghanistan.
Trump has also issued public warnings to Kabul, recently stating that “bad things would happen” if Afghanistan did not allow the U.S. to regain access to Bagram Air Base, a claim that Afghan authorities have rejected.
Kabul has not yet commented on the latest transfer to Peru. However, in September, Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi reiterated demands that all aircraft flown out of the country in 2021 be returned.
Estimates suggest that approximately $7 billion worth of U.S.-supplied equipment ended up under Taliban control following the collapse of the former Afghan government, alongside tens of billions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure at former NATO and ANA bases.