19 July 1981. 200.OShAE, whose work was coded with the name Operation Examen, arrived at the DRA. Shindand was chosen as the base - a large airbase, which had already been run through Su-25 during tests of 1980. Shindand was located in a relatively quiet area compared to the central and eastern provinces, and among other Afghan airfields was considered lowland - its almost three-kilometer concrete was located at an altitude of 1150 m and was more than sufficient for Su-25.