Supply Chain Strategies: Navigating The Challenges Of Delivering Aid To Afghanistan

The US has relied on a variety of supply routes to deliver military equipment to Afghanistan, a landlocked country with hostile neighbours. The cheapest way to deliver bulk supplies is by land, with 75% of supplies for the Afghan war being sent through or over Pakistan, including 40% of fuel. Supplies are transported through two land routes in Pakistan, one through the Khyber Pass in northwest Pakistan to the town of Torkham, and the other through Pakistan's Baluchistan province to the border town of Chaman. However, due to the political instability in Pakistan and the presence of the Taliban, the US has sought alternative supply routes, such as the Northern Distribution Network, which bypasses Pakistan and utilizes routes from Europe across Central Asia into Afghanistan.

Supplies are airlifted into Afghanistan through bases in Europe and the Gulf

The US has had to adapt its supply routes due to various challenges, including strained relations with Pakistan, the presence of the Taliban in the region, and attacks on supply trucks. The Northern Distribution Network was established to bypass Pakistan, utilising routes from Europe, across Central Asia, and into Afghanistan from the north. These routes originate in Baltic ports and continue through Belarus and Russia, with one route extending from Vladivostok through Siberia.

The US also trucks supplies all the way from Germany to Kyrgyzstan, and then into Afghanistan through Tajikistan. These routes are more costly than sea transport, but they are vital for ensuring the protection of US forces and achieving their mission.

The US has used the Northern Distribution Network to bypass Pakistan

The Northern Distribution Network (NDN) was established at the end of 2008 as a means of bypassing Pakistan to supply military operations in Afghanistan. The NDN was developed to address the pressing need to sustain the movement of equipment and supplies during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Prior to the NDN, the only means of resupplying US and coalition forces in Afghanistan was the Pakistan Ground Line of Communication (PAKGLOC). The Pakistani supply routes proved unreliable and vulnerable to theft and disruption by the Taliban. In 2008, the US military lost as much as 15% of its supplies in those areas due to ambushes and theft.

The NDN consists of a series of commercially-based logistical arrangements connecting Baltic and Caspian ports with Afghanistan via Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. The most commonly used route starts at the port of Riga, Latvia, on the Baltic Sea, and continues for 3,212 miles by train southwards through Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan before reaching Afghanistan's northern border at Termez. Another route starts at Poti, Georgia, on the Black Sea, and continues to Baku, Azerbaijan, where goods are transferred to barges and ferried across the Caspian Sea to Turkmenistan before moving by rail through Uzbekistan and arriving at the Afghan border. A third route bypasses Uzbekistan and instead goes from Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan and then through Tajikistan before reaching Termez.

The NDN has helped cultivate US foreign policies and strategic relationships with Central Asian states. The cooperative nature of these countries in supporting US logistics requirements has improved US-Eurasia relations and the overall geopolitical landscape in the region.

The US has used two land routes through Pakistan into Afghanistan

The first route is through the Khyber Pass in northwest Pakistan to the border town of Torkham and on to Kabul. The second route goes through Pakistan's Baluchistan province to the border town of Chaman and on to the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.

The US military and NATO do not give details of the supplies they get via Pakistan or a breakdown of how much comes on the two routes. However, Pakistani customs officials say about 300 trucks with supplies for Western forces come through the Khyber Pass every day and about 100 through Chaman.

The routes through Pakistan are vulnerable to insurgent attacks and natural disasters. In May 2010, a bomb on a NATO fuel truck killed at least 16 people in the Khyber area. In addition, the US-Pakistan relationship has deteriorated, leading the US to increasingly rely on alternative routes that bypass Pakistan.

The US has lost supplies in transit to theft and ambushes

In response to these losses, the Pentagon began the Northern Distribution Network at the end of 2008, bypassing Pakistan to supply military operations in Afghanistan. These routes have become increasingly important as US-Pakistan relations have deteriorated.

The Northern Distribution Network consists of a variety of routes from Europe across Central Asia, and into Afghanistan from the north. The routes all avoid transit through Pakistan. The first pathway is across the Caucasus region and Central Asia, largely using rail lines. Additional routes originate in the major Baltic ports (Tallinn in Estonia, Riga in Latvia, and Klaipeda in Lithuania) and continue through Belarus. Another route begins in Vladivostok on Russia's Pacific coast and extends through Siberia.

The Northern Distribution Network also includes trucking routes, such as the route from Germany to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, and then south through Tajikistan into Afghanistan. Under agreements with the governments of the countries involved, the cargo transported through the Northern Distribution Network is restricted to non-lethal equipment.

The US has destroyed some equipment to prevent it from falling into Taliban hands

In addition, the US has also conducted airstrikes to destroy US-supplied Humvees captured by the Taliban. Since January 2015, the US has destroyed about 40 Humvees in this manner.

Despite these efforts, the Taliban has still managed to capture a significant amount of US military equipment. This includes rifles, machine guns, night-vision goggles, radios, Humvees, MRAPs, aircraft, and more. The US does not have a complete picture of where all its defense materials have ended up, but it is clear that a substantial amount has fallen into the hands of the Taliban.

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