Nonstop flight route between Mercury, Nevada, United States and Kandahar, Afghanistan:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DRA to KDH:
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- About this route
- DRA Airport Information
- KDH Airport Information
- Facts about DRA
- Facts about KDH
- Map of Nearest Airports to DRA
- List of Nearest Airports to DRA
- Map of Furthest Airports from DRA
- List of Furthest Airports from DRA
- Map of Nearest Airports to KDH
- List of Nearest Airports to KDH
- Map of Furthest Airports from KDH
- List of Furthest Airports from KDH
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Desert Rock Airport (DRA), Mercury, Nevada, United States and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,728 miles (or 12,437 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Desert Rock Airport and Kabul International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.
Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Desert Rock Airport and Kabul International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DRA / KDRA |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Mercury, Nevada, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 36°37'9"N by 116°1'58"W |
Operator/Owner: | Mercury, Nevada |
Airport Type: | United States Department of Energy/Nevada |
Elevation: | 1010 feet (308 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from DRA |
More Information: | DRA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | KDH / OAKN |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Kandahar, Afghanistan |
GPS Coordinates: | 31°30'25"N by 65°51'1"E |
Area Served: | Southern Afghanistan |
Operator/Owner: | Afghanistan |
Airport Type: | Public/Military |
Elevation: | 3330 feet (1,015 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from KDH |
More Information: | KDH Maps & Info |
Facts about Desert Rock Airport (DRA):
- The closest airport to Desert Rock Airport (DRA) is Creech Air Force Base Indian Springs Auxiliary Army Airfield (1961) Indian Springs Air Force Base (1951) Indian Springs Army Airfield Indian Springs Airport eponyms: Indian Springs, Nevada &Wilbur L. Creech[1] (INS), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of DRA.
- Desert Rock Airport (DRA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Desert Rock Airport (DRA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,271 miles (18,139 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- In addition to being known as "Desert Rock Airport", another name for DRA is "NV65".
Facts about Kabul International Airport (KDH):
- In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", other names for KDH include "Kandahar International Airport (Kandahar)" and "میدان هوایی بین المللی کندهار".
- The furthest airport from Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is nearly antipodal to Kabul International Airport (meaning Kabul International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mataveri International Airport), and is located 12,023 miles (19,349 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
- Since 2007, the airport is maintained by NATO under the International Security Assistance Force banner, although a prominent base for the US and Canadian Forces, many other Armed Forces are based there.
- The Royal Air Force also has a detachment of C130 K and J model Hercules transport aircraft from 24, 30, 47 and 70 Squadrons and its attached Engineering detachment from 24/30 and 47/70 Engineering Squadrons as part of No.
- As part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy also had based a squadron of Harrier GR7A aircraft at Kandahar Airfield to provide close air support to coalition ground forces replacing USMC AV-8B's.
- The closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of KDH.
- Major battles between the Taliban and local anti-Taliban forces had been fought at the airport just days earlier, and when coalition troops arrived there were abandoned weapons - including a BM-21 still loaded with rockets - scattered around the terminal.
- Fighting in the Kandahar area was particularly intense.
- Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
- The Afghan government has been slow in rebuilding the facility, the vast majority of it has been reclaimed from years of neglect and damage by Soviet and Taliban soldiers.