The carrier's first widebody aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, entered the fleet in early . By , the aircraft fleet consisted of the DC-10 and two Boeing 727-100Cs. In the mid-1980s, during the Soviet–Afghan War, the carrier was forced to sell the DC-10 to British Caledonian, as the Soviets wanted the carrier to fly the Tupolev Tu-154 as a replacement. In , Ariana was taken over by Bakhtar Afghan Airlines, which became the country's new national airline. In 1986, "Bakhtar" ordered two Tupolev Tu-154Ms; the airline took possession of these aircraft in . In , "Bakhtar" was merged back into "Ariana", thus creating an airline which could serve both short and long haul routes.