It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and support to the American-led Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).

In December 2012 Prime Minister David Cameron announced that 3,800 troops—almost half of the force serving in Helmand Province—would be withdrawn during 2013[3] with numbers to fall to approximately 5,200.

[7][8] Air Force Times reported that On 11 October 2015, An RAF Puma MK2 helicopter, carrying 9 crew and passengers, crashed as it was landing at NATO's Resolute Support Mission HQ in Kabul, after colliding with a .58 inch tether line of a Persistent Threat Detection System intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance blimp on the southwest edge of the compound.

[14] On 15 April 2021, Sky News reported that British troops in Afghanistan would begin their withdrawal in the following month, alongside other NATO allies.

[16] In August 2021, following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan and an ensuing Taliban offensive, the UK redeployed troops to the country to facilitate the evacuation of British nationals and staff under Operation Pitting.