Disaster At Hand: Documenting Afghan Military Equipment Losses Since June 2021 until August 14, 2021

The United States’ controversial withdrawal from Afghanistan has left it teetering at the edge of an abyss as the country is facing a nationwide Taliban resurgence. Amidst an increasingly deteriorating security situation throughout large parts of the country, fears that Taliban forces could soon overrun the entirety of Afghanistan have become all too real, possibly reverting the situation on the ground back to that before the 2001 U.S. invasion in the long term. While the withdrawal of U.S. troops and their NATO allies has been praised by some and heavily criticised by others, there is one thing seemingly everyone can agree on: the 20-year U.S.-led mission to defeat the Taliban has been an utter failure.

In the absence of U.S. and NATO forces, it remains to be seen how long the Afghan government can hold its ground against an enemy that continues to take control of ever more parts of the country, their confidence bolstered by a lack of response from the Biden administration. With direct U.S. air support, intelligence assets and logistical support soon unavailable to the Afghan military, its forces will have immense difficulty in confining Taliban forces to their current areas of control. The possible withdrawal of U.S. contractors still attached to the Afghan military can only exacerbate the situation, and would likely ground much of the Afghan Air Force within weeks after their departure.

Similar to its withdrawal from Iraq in 2011, the U.S. leaves behind a broken military apparatus that despite the investment of tens of billions of dollars is ill-prepared to face the tasks assigned to it. The immense amount of equipment provided to Afghan security forces over the past two decades is hard to overstate, numbering some 25.000 HMMWVs ‘Humvees’ alone. Although an impressive number in and of itself, a lack of protection against improvised explosive devices (IEDs) means that these vehicles offer little of the protective capabilities of MRAPs available to NATO forces in Afghanistan. Astonishingly, while such MRAPs were made readily available to police departments all over the U.S., Afghan security forces have to make do without them.

The situation Afghanistan faces after the U.S. withdrawal is scarcely an isolated incident in modern U.S. history however. After effectively abandoning its ally South Vietnam in the 1970s, leaving behind a paralysed Iraq in 2011 and now withdrawing from Afghanistan, homecoming celebrations will be tainted by the grim prospects of those suffering the consequences of the War in Afghanistan for decades to come. The zealousness with which these military interventions are begun is only matched by the degree of subsequent indifference to the fate of the country when the realities of conflict become too uncomfortable, setting the stage for an endless repeating tragedy of interventionist disasters. Meanwhile, the local population is for generations to come unwillingly indebted to the whims of U.S. politics, a debt ironically incurred by the equally unwilling investment of trillions in American taxpayer dollars in the industry of war.

The haphazardness with which the U.S. is leaving Afghanistan is further illustrated by a lack of any agreement on who will run Kabul International Airport (IAP), with Afghan security forces currently not up to the task of doing so themselves. One of the countries designated to pick up the pieces is Turkey, which has been running operations at Kabul IAP since 2015 and has offered to run and protect the airport in the future as well if provided with enough logistic and financial assistance. Securing Kabul IAP and its immediate surroundings is vital to maintain flight operations in and out of the country, with diplomatic missions and development organisations otherwise shunning the embattled country.

For Turkey, increasing its involvement in Afghanistan could be tied to the easing or removal of U.S. sanctions in place on the country over its purchase of the S-400 missile system. As the only Muslim, Middle Eastern member of NATO, Turkey is perhaps best positioned to encourage all political actors to garner consensus for a durable Afghan peace to finally come to fruition. Turkish support will be vital in keeping Afghanistan open for business and at the same time send a strong signal to the Taliban that the Kabul area is not theirs for the taking.

One of the possible ways it can do is through its Turkey's highly efficient use of drones that has meanwhile shaped an entirely new foreign policy: that of Bayraktar Diplomacy. Based around small-footprint interventions that seek to maximise both political and military impact at low financial and humanitarian cost, Bayraktar Diplomacy essentially constitutes a new type of warfare that is uniquely suited to the characteristics of modern-day conflicts. Although the Bayraktar TB2 drones through which it is typically effected are relatively cheap, and in fact expendable, Bayraktar Diplomacy is in fact so effective that it can be said to have decided the fate of nations: without the TB2 the internationally recognised government of Libya could well have been wiped out in 2019 or 2020. Though picking up the slack where the might of the U.S. military apparatus sustained the Afghan government will be a tough challenge, Bayraktar Diplomacy could in the least be deployed in an effort to guarantee the security of the capital Kabul and its surroundings.

A detailed list of destroyed and captured equipment of the Afghan National Army and National Police since June 2021 until August 14, 2021 can be seen below.

The list only includes destroyed and captured vehicles and equipment of which photographic or videographic evidence is available. Most Taliban fighters do not have high-end cell phones, and its propaganda department does not publish photo or video reports on equipment captures. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is undoubtedly higher than recorded here. Not all equipment captured intact is operational at the time of capture, with many HMMWVs and Ford Rangers used as a source of spare parts to keep other vehicles running. When the degree of cannibalization is such that only a vehicle carcass remains, the equipment is not included in this list. The number of vehicles captured by the Taliban thus doesn't translate into an operational fleet of similar size. Small arms, ammunition, trailers, civilian vehicles and derelict vehicles are not included in this list. Entries are ordered by date whenever possible.

(Click on the numbers to get a picture of each individual destroyed or captured vehicle)

Tanks (12, of which captured: 12)
7 T-54/55: (1, captured) (2, captured) (3, captured) (4, captured) (5, captured) (6, captured) (7, captured)
5 T-62: (1, captured) (2, captured) (3, captured) (4, captured) (5, captured)

Armoured fighting vehicles (60, of which destroyed: 9, captured: 51)
55 M1117 ASV: (1, destroyed) (2, destroyed) (3, destroyed) (4, damaged and captured) (5, captured) (6, captured) (7, captured) (8, captured) (9, captured) (10, captured) (11, captured) (12, captured) (13, captured) (14, damaged and captured) (15, damaged and captured) (16, damaged and captured) (17, captured) (18, captured) (19, captured) (20, damaged and captured) (21, destroyed) (22, captured) (23, captured) (24, captured) (25, captured) (26, captured) (27, destroyed) (28, captured) (29, destroyed) (30, destroyed) (31, destroyed) (32, captured) (33, captured) (34, captured) (35, captured) (36, captured) (37, damaged and captured) (38, destroyed) (39, captured) (40, captured) (41, captured) (42 and 43, captured) (44, 45 and 46, captured) (47, captured) (48, captured) (49 and 50, captured) (51, 52, 53 and 54, captured) (55, captured)
2 M1117 Command & Control: (1, captured) (2, captured)
3 M113 APC: (1, captured) (2, captured) (3, captured)

Artillery and Mortars (61, of which captured: 61)
Missing flag.png 1 60mm mortar: (1, captured)
2 82mm M69 mortar: (1, captured) (2, captured)
Missing flag.png 1 120mm mortar: (1, captured)
Missing flag.png 19 Unknown mortar: (1, 2 and 3, captured) (4, 5, 6 and 7, captured) (8 and 9, captured) (10, 11 and 12, captured) (13, captured) (14 and 15, captured) (16, captured) (17, captured) (18, captured) (19, captured)
3 76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3): (1, captured) (2, captured) (3, captured)
35 122mm D-30 howitzer: (1, captured) (2, captured) (3, captured) (4, captured) (5, captured) (6, captured) (7, captured) (8, captured) (9, captured) (10, captured) (11, captured) (12, captured) (13, captured) (14, captured) (15, captured) (16, captured) (17, captured) (18, captured) (19, captured) (20, 21 and 22, captured) (23, captured) (24, captured) (25, captured) (26, captured) (27, captured) (28, captured) (29, captured) (30, captured) (31, captured) (32, captured) (33, captured) (34, captured) (35, captured)

Anti-aircraft guns (8, of which captured: 8)
2 14.5mm KPV-1: (1, captured) (2, captured)
6 23mm ZU-23: (1, captured) (2, captured) (3, captured) (4, captured) (5, captured) (6, captured)

Aircraft and Helicopters (23, of which destroyed: 7, captured: 16)
13 Mi-17: (1, destroyed) (2, destroyed) (3, destroyed) (4, damaged and captured) (5, destroyed) (6, captured) (7, captured) (8, captured) (9, captured) (10 and 11, captured) (12, captured) (13, captured)
1 Mi-35: (1, captured)
7 UH-60A Blackhawk: (1, destroyed) (2, destroyed) (3, destroyed) (4, captured) (5, captured) (6, captured) (7, captured)
2 MD 530F: (1, damaged and later captured) (2, captured)

Unmanned Aerial vehicles (7, of which destroyed: 1, captured: 6)
6 Boeing Insitu ScanEagle: (1, captured) (2 and 3, captured) (4, captured) (5 and 6, captured)
1 DJI Mavic: (1, destroyed)

Trucks, Vehicles and Jeeps (2086, of which destroyed: 106, captured: 1980)
351 M-1151 HMMWV: (1, destroyed) (2, destroyed) (3, destroyed) (4, destroyed) (5, destroyed) (6, destroyed) (7, destroyed) (8, captured) (9, captured) (10, captured) (11, captured) (12, captured) (13, captured) (14, captured) (15, captured) (16, captured) (17, captured) (18 and 19, captured) (20, captured) (21, captured) (22, captured) (23 and 24, captured) (25, captured) (26, captured) (27, captured) (28, captured) (29, captured) (30, captured) (31, captured) (32, captured) (33, captured) (34 and 35, captured) (36, captured) (37 and 38, captured) (39, captured) (40, destroyed) (41, destroyed) (42, destroyed) (43, destroyed) (44, captured) (45, destroyed) (46 and 47, captured) (48, captured) (49, captured) (50, captured) (51, captured) (52, captured) (53, captured) (54, captured) (55, captured) (56, captured) (57, captured) (58, captured) (59, captured) (60, captured) (61, destroyed) (62, captured) (63, destroyed) (64, captured) (65, captured) (66, captured) (67, captured) (68, damaged and captured) (69, destroyed) (70, destroyed) (71, damaged and captured) (72, captured) (73, captured) (74, captured) (75, captured) (76, captured) (77, captured) (78, 79, 80, captured) (81, captured) (82, captured) (83, captured) (84 and 85, captured) (86, captured) (87, captured) (88, captured) (89, captured) (90, captured) (91, damaged and captured) (92, captured) (93, damaged and captured) (94, damaged and captured) (95, captured) (96, captured) (97, damaged and captured) (98, damaged and captured) (99, damaged and captured) (100, captured) (101, captured) (102, captured) (103, captured) (104, captured) (105, captured) (106, 107 and 108, destroyed) (109 and 110, damaged and captured) (111, damaged and captured) (112, captured) (113, captured) (114, captured) (115, 116, 117 and 118, captured) (119, captured) (120, captured) (121, captured) (122, captured) (123, captured) (124, damaged and captured) (125, captured) (126, damaged and captured) (127, captured) (128, captured) (129, 130 and 131, captured) (132, destroyed) (133, captured) (134, damaged and captured) (135, destroyed) (136, captured) (137, captured) (138, captured) (139, captured) (140, captured) (141, captured) (142, captured) (143, captured) (144, captured) (145, destroyed) (146, captured) (147, captured) (148, captured) (149, captured) (150 and 151, captured) (152, captured) (153, captured) (154, captured) (155, captured) (156, captured) (157, destroyed) (158, damaged and captured) (159, captured) (160, captured) (161, captured) (162, destroyed) (163, captured) (164, captured) (165, destroyed) (166, destroyed) (167, destroyed) (168, captured) (169, captured) (170, 171 and 172, captured) (173, destroyed) (174 and 175, captured) (176, captured) (177, captured) (178, captured) (179, captured) (180, captured) (181 and 182, captured) (183 and 184, captured) (185 and 186, captured) (187, captured) (188, destroyed) (189, captured) (190, captured) (191 and 192, damaged and captured) (193, 194 and 195, captured) (196 and 197, captured) (198, captured) (199, captured) (200, captured) (201, captured) (202, captured) (203, captured) (204, captured) (205, captured) (206 and 207, captured) (208, captured) (209, captured) (210, captured) (211, destroyed) (212, captured) (213, captured) (214, captured) (215, captured) (216, captured) (217, captured) (218, 219 and 220, captured) (221, captured) (222, captured) (223, captured) (224, captured) (225, destroyed) (226, destroyed) (227, captured) (228, captured) (229, captured) (230, captured) (231 and 232, captured) (233 and 234, captured) (235, captured) (236, captured) (237, captured) (238, captured) (239, captured) (240, captured) (241, captured) (242 and 243, captured) (244, captured) (245, damaged and captured) (246, captured) (247, captured) (248, captured) (249, captured) (250, captured) (251 and 252, captured) (253, captured) (254, captured) (255, captured) (256, captured) (257, captured) (258 and 259, captured) (260, captured) (261, captured) (262, captured) (263, captured) (264, captured) (265, destroyed) (266, destroyed) (267 and 268, destroyed) (269, destroyed) (270, captured) (271, captured) (272, captured) (273, captured) (274, captured) (275, captured) (276, destroyed) (277, captured) (278, captured) (279, captured) (280, captured) (281, captured) (282, captured) (283 and 284, captured) (285, captured) (286, captured) (287, captured) (288, captured) (289, captured) (290, destroyed) (291, captured) (292, captured) (293, captured) (294, captured) (295, captured) (296, captured) (297, captured) (298, destroyed) (299, captured) (300, captured) (301, captured) (302 and 303, captured) (304 and 305, captured) (306, captured) (307, captured) (308, captured) (309, captured) (310, captured) (311, destroyed) (312, captured) (313, captured) (314, destroyed) (315, captured) (316 and 317, captured) (318 and 319, captured) (320, destroyed) (321, captured) (322, captured) (323, captured) (324, captured) (325, captured) (326, captured) (327, captured) (328, captured) (329, captured) (330, destroyed) (331, captured) (332, captured) (333, captured) (334 and 335, captured) (336, 337, 338, 339, 340, 341, 342, 343, 344 and 345, captured) (346 and 347, captured) (348 and 349, captured) (350, destroyed) (351, destroyed)
378 M-1152 HMMWV: (1, captured) (2, captured) (3, captured) (4, captured) (5, captured) (6, captured) (7, captured) (8, captured) (9, captured) (10, captured) (11, captured) (12 and 13, captured) (14 and 15, captured) (16 and 17, captured) (18, captured) (19 and 20, captured) (21, captured) (22, captured) (23, captured) (24, captured) (25, captured) (26, captured) (27, captured) (28, captured) (29, captured) (30, destroyed) (31, destroyed) (32, captured) (33, captured) (34, captured) (35, captured) (36, captured) (37, captured) (38 and 39, damaged and captured) (40, damaged and captured) (41, damaged and captured) (42, destroyed) (43, captured) (44, damaged and captured) (45, 46, 47 and 48, damaged and captured) (49, captured) (50, captured) (51 and 52, captured) (53 and 54, captured) (55, captured) (56, captured) (57, captured) (58, captured) (59, captured) (60, damaged and captured) (61, 62 and 63, captured) (64 and 65, captured) (66, captured) (67, damaged and captured) (68, captured) (69, captured) (70, captured) (71, captured) (72, captured) (73, captured) (74, 75 and 76, captured) (77, 78 and 79, captured) (80, captured) (81, captured) (82, captured) (83, captured) (84, destroyed) (85, destroyed) (86, damaged and captured) (87, damaged and captured) (88, captured) (89 and 90, captured) (91, captured) (92, 93 and 94, captured) (95 and 96, captured) (97, captured) (98, captured) (99, captured) (100, captured) (101, captured) (102, captured) (103, 104, 105, 106 and 107, captured) (108, captured) (109, captured) (110, captured) (111, captured) (112, 113 and 114, captured) (115, captured) (116, captured) (117, captured) (118 and 119, captured) (120, destroyed) (121, destroyed) (122, destroyed) (123, damaged and captured) (124, damaged and captured) (125, captured) (126, captured) (127, captured) (128, captured) (129, damaged and captured) (130 and 131, damaged and captured) (132, damaged and captured) (133, captured) (134, captured) (135, 136, 137 and 138, captured) (139, 140, 141 and 142, captured) (143, damaged and captured) (144 and 145, destroyed) (146, captured) (147, damaged and captured) (148, damaged and captured) (149, damaged and captured) (150, destroyed) (151, captured) (152 and 153, captured) (154, captured) (155, captured) (156 and 157, captured) (158 and 159, destroyed) (160, destroyed) (161, captured) (162, captured) (163, captured) (164, captured) (165, captured) (166, captured) (167, captured) (168, captured) (169, captured) (170, captured) (171, captured) (172, captured) (173, captured) (174, captured) (175, captured) (176 and 177, captured) (178, captured) (179, captured) (180, captured) (181, damaged and captured) (182, captured) (183, captured) (184, captured) (185, captured) (186, captured) (187, damaged and captured) (188, captured) (189, captured) (190 and 191, captured) (192, captured) (193, captured) (194, captured) (195 and 196, captured) (197, captured) (198, captured) (199, captured) (200, captured) (201, captured) (202, captured) (203, captured) (204, captured) (205, captured) (206, captured) (207, captured) (208, captured) (209, captured) (210, captured) (211, captured) (212, captured) (213, captured) (214, captured) (215 and 216, captured) (217 and 218, captured) (219, captured) (220, captured) (221, captured) (222, captured) (223 and 224, captured) (225, captured) (226, captured) (227, captured) (228, captured) (229, captured) (230, captured) (231, captured) (232, captured) (233, captured) (234 and 235, destroyed) (236, 237 and 238, captured) (239, captured) (240 and 241, captured) (242, captured) (243, captured) (244 and 245, destroyed) (246 and 247, captured) (248, captured) (249, captured) (250, captured) (251, captured) (252, destroyed) (253, captured) (254, captured) (255, destroyed) (256, captured) (257 and 258, captured) (259, captured) (260, captured) (261, captured) (262, captured) (263, 264 and 265, captured) (266 and 267, captured) (268, captured) (269, captured) (270 and 271, captured) (272 and 273, captured) (274 and 275, captured) (276, captured) (277, captured) (278, captured) (278, captured) (279 and 280, captured) (281, captured) (282 and 283, captured) (284, captured) (285, captured) (286, captured) (287, captured) (288, captured) (289 and 290, captured) (291, captured) (292, captured) (293, captured) (294, captured) (295 and 296, captured) (297 and 298, captured) (299, captured) (300, captured) (301, captured) (302, captured) (303 and 304, captured) (305, captured) (306, 307 and 308, captured) (309, captured) (310, captured) (311, captured) (312 and 313, captured) (314, captured) (315, captured) (316, destroyed) (317, captured) (318, captured) (319, destroyed) (320, captured) (321, captured) (322, captured) (323, captured) (324, captured) (325, captured) (326 and 327, captured) (328, captured) (329, captured) (330, captured) (331, destroyed) (332 and 333, captured) (334, captured) (335, captured) (336, captured) (337, captured) (338 and 339, captured) (340, captured) (341, captured) (342 and 343, captured) (344 and 345, captured) (346, captured) (347, captured) (348 and 349, captured) (350, captured) (351, captured) (352 and 353, captured) (354, captured) (355 and 356, captured) (357, captured) (358, captured) (359, destroyed) (360, captured) (361 and 362, captured) (363, 364 and 365, captured) (366 and 367, captured) (368, captured) (369, captured) (370 and 371, captured) (372, captured) (373, captured) (374, 375 and 376, captured) (377, captured) (378, captured) (379, destroyed)
11 International M1224 MaxxPro: (1, captured) (2, captured) (3, captured) (4, captured) (5, captured) (6, captured) (7, captured) (8, 9 and 10, captured) (11, captured)
901 Ford Ranger: (1, destroyed) (2 and 3, destroyed) (4, captured) (5, captured) (6, captured) (7, captured) (8, captured) (9 and 10, captured) (11 and 12, captured) (13, captured) (14 and 15, captured) (16, captured) (17, captured) (18, captured) (19, captured) (20, captured) (21 and 22, captured) (23, captured) (24, captured) (25, captured) (26, captured) (27, 28 and 29 captured) (30, 31 and 32 captured) (33 and 34, captured) (35, destroyed) (36, captured) (37, captured) (38, destroyed) (39, captured) (40, damaged and captured) (41, captured) (42, captured) (43, destroyed) (44, captured) (45, captured) (46, captured) (47, 48 and 49, captured) (50 and 51, captured) (52, 53, 54, 55 and 56, captured) (57, captured) (58, 59, 60, 61, 62 and 63, captured) (64 and 65, captured) (66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71 and 72, captured) (73, 74, 75, 76, 77 and 78, captured) (79, 80, 81, 82, 83 and 84, captured) (85, 86 and 87, captured) (88 and 89, captured) (90, captured) (91 and 92, captured) (93, captured) (94, captured) (95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103 and 104, captured) (105, captured) (106, captured) (107, 108, 109, 110 and 111, captured) (112, captured) (113, 114, 115 and 116, captured) (117, captured) (118, captured) (119, 120, 121 and 122, captured) (123, 124, 125, 126, 127 and 128, damaged and captured) (129, captured) (130, destroyed) (131, 132 and 133, captured) (134, captured) (135, captured) (136, destroyed) (137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143 and 144, captured) (145, captured) (146, destroyed) (147, captured) (148, 149, 150 and 151, damaged and captured) (152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157 and 158, captured) (159, captured) (160, 161 and 162, captured) (163, captured) (164, captured) (165, captured) (166, 167, 168 and 169, captured) (170, captured) (171, captured) (172, captured) (173, 174 and 175, captured) (176, captured) (177 and 178, captured) (179 and 180, captured) (181, captured) (182, captured) (183, destroyed) (184, captured) (185, captured) (186, captured) (187, 188, 189, 190 and 191, captured) (192 and 193, captured) (194, captured) (195 and 196, captured) (197, 198 and 199, destroyed) (200, destroyed) (201, destroyed) (202, destroyed) (203 and 204, captured) (205 and 206, captured) (207, captured) (210, captured) (211, 212 and 213, captured) (214, captured) (215, captured) (216 and 217, captured) (218, 219, 220, 221, 222 and 223, captured) (224 and 225, damaged and captured) (226, captured) (227, captured) (228, 229 and 230, captured) (231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240 and 241, captured) (242, captured) (243 and 244, captured) (245 and 246, damaged and captured) (247, 248, 249, 250, 251 and 252, captured) (253 and 254, captured) (255, destroyed) (256, captured) (257, captured) (258, captured) (259 and 260, captured) (261 and 262, destroyed) (263, destroyed) (264, destroyed) (265 and 266, captured) (267 and 268, captured) (269 and 270, captured) (271, captured) (272, 273 and 274, captured) (275, captured) (276, captured) (277, captured) (278, captured) (279, captured) (280, captured) (281, captured) (282, captured) (283 and 284, captured) (285, 286, 287, 288 and 289, captured) (290, captured) (291, captured) (292, captured) (293, 294, 295, 296 and 297, captured) (298, 299, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307 and 308, captured) (309, captured) (310, destroyed) (311, 312, 313, 314 and 315, captured) (316, captured) (317, captured) (318, captured) (319, captured) (320, captured) (321, captured) (322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329 and 330, captured) (331, captured) (332, captured) (333, captured) (324, captured) (335, captured) (336, captured) (337, 338 and 339, captured) (340, captured) (341, captured) (342, captured) (343, captured) (344, captured) (345, captured) (346, captured) (347, 348 and 349, captured) (350, 351 and 352, captured) (353, 354 and 355, captured) (356, 357 and 358, captured) (359, captured) (360, 361, 362, 363, 364 and 365, damaged and captured) (366, captured) (367, captured) (368, captured) (369, captured) (370, captured) (371, captured) (372 and 373, captured) (374, captured) (375, captured) (376, 377 and 378, captured) (379, captured) (380, captured) (381, 382 and 383, captured) (384 and 385, captured) (386, 387 and 388, captured) (389, captured) (390, 391, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 400, 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406 and 407, captured) (408, captured) (409, captured) (410, captured) (411, captured) (412, 413 and 414, captured) (415, 416 and 417, captured) (418 and 419, captured) (420, 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, 428, 429, 430, 431, 432, 433 and 434, captured) (435, captured) (436, captured) (437 and 438, captured) (439, captured) (440, captured) (441 and 442, captured) (443, captured) (444, captured) (445, captured) (446 and 447, captured) (448, captured) (449, captured) (450 and 451, captured) (452, captured) (453, captured) (454, captured) (455, captured) (456, captured) (457, captured) (458, captured) (459, captured) (460 and 461, captured) (462, captured) (463 and 464, captured) (465, captured) (466 and 467, captured) (468, captured) (469, 470 and 471, damaged and captured) (472, damaged and captured) (473, captured) (474 and 475, captured) (476, captured) (477, 478, 479, 480 and 481, damaged and captured) (482, 483, 484, 485, 486, 487 and 488, captured) (489, captured) (490, captured) (491, captured) (492, destroyed) (493, captured) (494, 495 and 496, captured) (497, captured) (498, 499 and 500, captured) (501, captured) (502, captured) (503 and 504, captured) (505, captured) (506, 507, 508, 509 and 510, captured) (511, captured) (512, captured) (513, captured) (514, captured) (515, 516, 517 and 518, captured) (519, captured) (520, captured) (521, captured) (522, captured) (523, captured) (524, captured) (525, captured) (526, captured) (527, captured) (528, captured) (529, captured) (530 and 531, captured) (532, captured) (533, 534, 535 and 536, captured) (537, captured) (538, captured) (539, captured) (540, captured) (541 and 542, captured) (543, captured) (544, captured) (545 and 546, captured) (547, 548, 549 and 550, captured) (551, 552 and 553, captured) (554, captured) (555, captured) (556, 557, 558, 559, 560 and 561, captured) (562, captured) (563, captured) (564, captured) (565, captured) (567, captured) (568, 569, 570, 571 and 572, captured) (573, captured) (574, captured) (575 and 576, captured) (577, 578, 579 and 580, captured) (581, 582 and 583, captured) (584, captured) (585, captured) (586, captured) (587, captured) (588, destroyed) (589, captured) (590, 591, 592, 593 and 594, captured) (595, destroyed) (596 and 597, captured) (598, captured) (599, 600, 601, 602 and 603, captured) (604, 605 and 606, captured) (607, captured) (608. 609 and 610, captured) (611, captured) (612 and 613, captured) (614 and 615, captured) (616, captured) (617, captured) (618, captured) (619, destroyed) (620, captured) (621 and 622, captured) (623 and 624, captured) (625 and 626, captured) (627, 628, 629, 630 and 631, captured) (632, captured) (633 and 634, captured) (645, 636, 637 and 638, captured) (639, 640 and 641, captured) (642 and 643, captured) (644, 645 and 646, captured) (647, captured) (648, captured) (649, captured) (650 and 651, captured) (652 and 653, captured) (654, captured) (655, captured) (656, captured) (657 and 658, captured) (659 and 660, captured) (661, captured) (662, captured) (663, captured) (664, 665, 666, 667, 668, 669, 670, 671, 672, 673, 674, 675, 676, 677, 678, 679, 680 and 681, captured) (682, 683 and 684, captured) (685 and 686, captured) (687, captured) (688, 689 and 690, captured) (691 and 692, captured) (693, captured) (694 and 695, captured) (696, 697, 698 and 699, captured) (700, 701, 702 and 703, captured) (704 and 705, captured) (706, 707 and 708, captured) (709, captured) (710, 711 and 712, captured) (713, 714, 715, 716, 717 and 718, captured) (719, 720, 721, 722, 723, 724, 725 and 726, captured) (727, 728, 729 and 730, captured) (731, captured) (732, 733, 734 and 735, captured) (736, 737, 738 and 739, captured) (740, 741 and 742, captured) (743, captured) (744 and 745, captured) (746, 747 and 748, captured) (749, captured) (750, captured) (751, 752 and 753, captured) (754, captured) (755, captured) (756, captured) (757, captured) (758, captured) (759, captured) (760, captured) (761, captured) (762, captured) (763, captured) (764, 765 and 766, captured) (767, captured) (768, 769, 770, 771, 772, 773, 774, 775, 776, 777 and 778, captured) (779, 780, 781, 782, 783, 784, 785, 786, 787, 788, 789, 790, 791, 792 and 793, captured) (794, 795, 796, 797 and 798, captured) (799, 800, 801, 802, 803, 804, 805, 806 and 807, captured) (808, 809, 810, 811, 812, 813, 814 and 815, captured) (816, 817, 818, 819, 820, 821, 822, 823, 824 and 825, captured) (826, 827, 828, 829, 830, 831 and 832, captured) (833, 834, 835 and 836, captured) (837, 838 and 839, captured) (840, captured) (841, captured) (842, destroyed) (843, 844, 845 and 846, captured) (847, 848, 849, 850, 851, 852, 853, 854, 855, 856, 857, 858, 859, 860, 861, 862, 863, 864, 865, 866, 867, 868, 869, 870, 871, 872, 873, 874 and 875, captured) (877, captured) (878 and 879, captured) (880, 881, 882 and 883, captured) (884, captured) (885 and 886, captured) (887, captured) (888, captured) (889, captured) (890, captured) (891, captured) (892, captured) (893, captured) (894, captured) (895, captured) (896, captured) (897, captured) (898, 899, 900 and 901, captured)
323 Navistar International 7000 series: (1, destroyed) (2, destroyed) (3, captured) (4, captured) (5, captured) (6, captured) (7, captured) (8, captured) (9 and 10, captured) (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19, captured) (20, 21, 22, 23 and 24, captured) (25, captured) (26, destroyed) (27 and 28, captured) (29 and 30, captured) (31, captured) (32, captured) (33 and 34, captured) (35, captured) (36, captured) (37, destroyed) (38, destroyed) (39 and 40, captured) (41, captured) (42, captured) (43, captured) (44, captured) (45 and 46, captured) (47, captured) (48, captured) (49, captured) (50, captured) (51, captured) (52 and 53, captured) (54 and 55, captured) (56, captured) (57, captured) (58, captured) (59, captured) (60, captured) (61, captured) (62, captured) (63, captured) (64, captured) (65, captured) (66, 67, 68, 69 and 70 captured) (71, captured) (72 and 73, captured) (74 and 75, captured) (76, captured) (77, captured) (78, captured) (79, 80, 81 and 82, captured) (83, captured) (84, captured) (85, captured) (86, 87 and 88, captured) (89, captured) (90, captured) (91, captured) (92, captured) (93, captured) (94, destroyed) (95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102 and 103, captured) (104, captured) (105, captured) (106, captured) (107, captured) (108, captured) (109, captured) (110, captured) (111, captured) (112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120 and 121, captured) (122, captured) (123, captured) (124, captured) (125, captured) (126 and 127, captured) (128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134 and 135, captured) (136, 137, 138 and 139, captured) (140, captured) (141, captured) (142, captured) (143, captured) (144, captured) (145, captured) (146 and 147, captured) (148, captured) (149 and 150, captured) (151, captured) (152, captured) (153 and 154, captured) (155, 156 and 157, captured) (158 and 159, captured) (160 and 161, captured) (162, captured) (163 and 164, captured) (165, captured) (166 and 167, captured) (168 and 169, captured) (170, 171 and 172, captured) (173, captured) (174, captured) (175, captured) (176, captured) (177 and 178, captured) (179, captured) (180, captured) (181, 182, 183, 184, 185 and 186, captured) (187, captured) (188 and 189, captured) (190, captured) (191, captured) (192, 193 and 194, captured) (195 and 196, captured) (197, captured) (198, captured) (199, 201 and 202, captured) (203, captured) (204 and 205, captured) (206, 207, 208 and 209, captured) (210 and 211, captured) (212, captured) (213 and 214, captured) (215, captured) (216, 217 and 218, captured) (219, captured) (220 and 221, captured) (222, captured) (223, captured) (224, captured) (225, captured) (226, captured) (227, captured) (228, 229, 230, 231 and 232, captured) (233, captured) (234 and 235, captured) (236, captured) (237 and 238, captured) (239, captured) (240 and 241, captured) (242, captured) (243 and 244, captured) (245, 246, 247 and 248, captured) (249, 250 and 251, captured) (252, 253 and 254, captured) (255 and 256, captured) (257, captured) (258 and 259, captured) (260, captured) (261, captured) (262, captured) (263 and 264, captured) (265, captured) (266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275 and 276, captured) (277, 278, 279, 280 and 281, captured) (282, captured) (283, captured) (284, captured) (285, damaged and captured) (286, captured) (287, captured) (288, captured) (289, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297 and 298, captured) (299 and 300, captured) (301, captured) (302, 303 and 304, captured) (305 and 306, captured) (307 and 308, captured) (309, captured) (310, 311, 312, 313 and 314, captured) (315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322 and 323, captured)
8 Armoured Navistar International 7000 series: (1, captured) (2, captured) (3, captured) (4, captured) (5, captured) (6, captured) (7, captured) (8, captured)
7 Navistar International 7000 series recovery vehicle: (1, captured) (2, captured) (3, captured) (4, captured) (5, captured) (6, captured) (7, captured)
3 Navistar International 7000 bus: (1 and 2, captured) (3, captured)
8 Ford Cargo dump truck: (1, captured) (2, 3 and 4 captured) (5 and 6, captured) (7, captured) (8, captured)
8 M915A3: (1, captured) (2, destroyed) (3 and 4, captured) (5, captured) (6, captured) (7, captured) (8, captured)
77 ATV: (1, captured) (2, captured) (3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, captured) (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 captured) (18, captured) (19, destroyed) (20, captured) (21, captured) (22, damaged and captured) (23 and 24, captured) (25 and 26, captured) (27, captured) (28, captured) (29, captured) (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63 and 63, captured) (64, 65 and 66, captured) (67, captured) (68, 69, 70 and 71, captured) (72, captured) (73, captured) (74, captured) (75, 76 and 77, captured)
6 Front/Skid loader: (1, captured) (2, captured) (3, captured) (4, captured) (5 and 6, captured)
2 Bulldozer: (1, captured) (2, captured)
1 Excavator: (1, captured)
1 Airport construction equipment: (1 and 2, captured)

#9. From the films I have scene of Taliban attacks and convoys, their main weapons have been heavy to very heavy machine guns (.50 Cal and larger shelled ammo), some of what looked like machineguns may have been small caliber cannon (I don’t know what they are called). Many mounted on fast vehicles for convoy strikes that take out the first outposts of a target in surprise and concentrated attacks.

The other key weapons are the RPGs, what I considered one of the most successful and feared Communist bloc weapons in Vietnam/Cambodia. They can and did take out outposts, bunkers, machinegun emplacements, and armored vehicles.

Very simple to operate, essential an aim and shoot rocket (not grenade due to its armor piercing capabilities). I held one from the Grenada captured weapons cache and possibly in Nam in one of the ARVN captured weapons museums.

I saw a film of a Taliban rocket attack on a combined US-Afghan base area. Our guys fired 105’s at the hills where the attackers were hiding (I’ve seen 105’s in action in Nam).

However, one Afghani grabbed an RPG and hit the hillside with good accuracy, at about 1/2 mile away. Impressive.

Mortars - routine stuff. (Captured, 2 82mm ones). Heavily used by Iraq army forces, fedeyeen (my son took out some of their snipers with his M249), and ISIS. So why wouldn’t the Taliban use them when they got them (Lots of old Soviet weapons seen in their displays of captured weapons, plus they are seen being carried by regular Taliban forces when they pose for the western propaganda press).

Any 122 mm artillery or rockets are dangerous at any time. The Taliban, according to the posted inventory of captured govt weapons numbered about 36 or so.

The Taliban is basically a mountain-based guerrilla army with some modern weapons but most are traditional Soviet or US items dating back as far as the 50’s.

What they had were the ability to mass a large force, possibly an overwhelming one, strike fast enough before the Afghan Army could get its defenses up, and overrun outer defense creating panic all over the place.

A lack of a major air force was a key to the Afghanis being unable to react fast enough all over the country. The fact that Biden refused to give them basically needed replacement parts (shades of Nam, again), prevented a serious counterstrike from the air on massed vehicle convoys with exposed troops in their trucks.

And the lack of napalm was THE MAJOR fatal element in any air strike lacking an ability to cover a large area (esp. of convoys and marching columns) with a deadly and accurate weapon.

As an American combat Sergeant from the Big Red One described to me a napalm strike on a VC battalion, “It was crispy critter time. No survivors”.

Also, from The Washington Daily News, April 18, 1972, front page headline, “B52s Kill 1,400 Reds at An Loc” (and they weren’t talking about the rock groups “killing” their audience with great music).

Also, we didn’t use “Daisy Clusters” on the Taliban, at least not since last 2001 when we broke their backs at Tora Bora, only to have some idea in our military give them a safe escape route into Pakistan. I wonder if that was Gen. Villi Milli, Patraeus, McCrystal, or Franks.

Know your enemy and his military strategies, tactics and weapons/supply systems and then apply the most effective/deadly weapons in your inventory against them. It is often more important to break their spirit than to kill lots of them.

We didn’t do that enough.

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