The US seems to have only taken their helicopter gunships and left their Blackhawk transport helicopters rather than taking the time to load them onto cargo planes. I say this because there are videos floating around the internet of Taliban fighters finding lots of them sitting around abandoned US bases and outposts. There were also videos of them learning through trial and error how to fly Blackhawks, so they apparently left them in working condition instead of at least sabotaging them by ripping out key components.
Didn't see any Chinooks but iirc they have a lot more range than regular helicopters and with refueling can make the trip without being loaded into cargo planes. One of the reasons the US military is replacing their Blackhawks with the V-280 Valor is for that extended range compared to regular helicopters.
I thought I remembered seeing accounts that the US 'disabled' them somehow
If not then lmao, just leaving fucking helicopters for your enemy to take. Of course, they probably don't have access to the fuel and tools needed to keep them up, but it also wouldn't shock me if they just left all the tools and repair manuals behind in a (loosely) locked closet with a sign saying 'Blackhawk maintenance equipment in here' in English, Pashto, Dari, and Farsi
I thought I remembered seeing accounts that the US 'disabled' them somehow
They didn't even do that, at least in some instances. There were videos of Taliban fighters confirming they functioned along with finding documentation, tools, and supplies. I'm sure someone did the math and decided it wasn't worth the cost to transport out all that stuff.
The Ukrainian conflict has absolutely flushed arms traffickers with illicit American weapons.
The drawdown in Afghanistan did too, since apparently American policy is to just leave shit and only destroy the important stuff like helos
More than a few videos of the Taliban finding rooms full of M4s, M240s, etc
The US seems to have only taken their helicopter gunships and left their Blackhawk transport helicopters rather than taking the time to load them onto cargo planes. I say this because there are videos floating around the internet of Taliban fighters finding lots of them sitting around abandoned US bases and outposts. There were also videos of them learning through trial and error how to fly Blackhawks, so they apparently left them in working condition instead of at least sabotaging them by ripping out key components.
Didn't see any Chinooks but iirc they have a lot more range than regular helicopters and with refueling can make the trip without being loaded into cargo planes. One of the reasons the US military is replacing their Blackhawks with the V-280 Valor is for that extended range compared to regular helicopters.
I thought I remembered seeing accounts that the US 'disabled' them somehow
If not then lmao, just leaving fucking helicopters for your enemy to take. Of course, they probably don't have access to the fuel and tools needed to keep them up, but it also wouldn't shock me if they just left all the tools and repair manuals behind in a (loosely) locked closet with a sign saying 'Blackhawk maintenance equipment in here' in English, Pashto, Dari, and Farsi
They didn't even do that, at least in some instances. There were videos of Taliban fighters confirming they functioned along with finding documentation, tools, and supplies. I'm sure someone did the math and decided it wasn't worth the cost to transport out all that stuff.
Fucking LMAO
Couldn't even be bothered to toss some thermite onto the sensitive bits
'Best military in the world' though everybody
There's also videos of them crashing the helos because no one knows how to fly them.
Plus, those things require a ton of maintenance.