Ayni Air Base was the Indian Air Force’s first overseas base located in Tajikistan. The base was strategic as it gave India an edge against Pakistan and China due to its location and proximity. India had quietly modernised the airbase in the mountains of Tajikistan, reshaping the strategic landscape of South Asia, emerging as a potential geopolitical lever—particularly in relation to Pakistan.

Located about 15 kilometres west of Dushanbe, the Ayni Airbase—once a decaying Soviet-era facility—has transformed into a key strategic asset for India. After lying dormant through Tajikistan’s civil war in the 1990s, the base was revived through a $70 million Indian investment launched in 2002, during the height of the U.S.-led war on terror in Afghanistan.

By 2010, India had completed major upgra

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