Nonstop flight route between Zaranj, Afghanistan and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Zaranj Airport (ZAJ), Zaranj, Afghanistan and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,323 miles (or 11,785 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 Zaranj Airport and Shaw Air Force Base, 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 Zaranj Airport and Shaw Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Zaranj Airport (ZAJ):

• The closest airport to Zaranj Airport (ZAJ) is Zabol Airport (ACZ), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) WNW of ZAJ.
• In addition to being known as "Zaranj Airport", other names for ZAJ include "Zaranj Airport (Zaranj)" and "KDH".
• The furthest airport from Zaranj Airport (ZAJ) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,849 miles (19,069 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• Over the next four decades, the squadrons under the 363d TRW changed frequently.
• After the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate military branch in September 1947, Shaw Army Airfield was renamed Shaw Air Force Base, on 13 January 1948 and the 20th Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated on 15 August 1947 with the implementation of the Hobson Plan.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• The 20th Fighter Group was first equipped with North American P-51D, then exchanged its P-51's in February 1948 for F-84B Thunderjets, the first TAC group to receive operational F-84s.
• The furthest airport from Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,545 miles (18,580 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• On 9 August 1990, the 17th and 33d TFS of 363d TFW became the first F-16 squadrons to deploy to the United Arab Emirates in Operation Desert Shield.
• In October 1942, the flight training was changed to Advanced flying training and AT-6 Texan single-engine and Beech AT-10 twin-engine trainers were used.