Armored vehicles and missile defense: the United States renders high-tech equipment unusable

Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Armored Car and Missile Defense
USA makes high-tech equipment unusable

With a massive military operation, the United States secured the airport in Kabul for nearly two weeks and was able to evacuate thousands of people. A lot of equipment remains: vehicles, airplanes and missile defense systems – but they will not be used in the future.

When they withdrew, US troops disabled several aircraft and armored vehicles, as well as missile defense systems at Kabul airport, so that they would not fall into the hands of the Taliban or other Islamist groups. 27 Humvees and 70 armored MRAP vehicles – which could cost up to a million dollars – have been rendered unusable, said General Kenneth McKenzie, the chief of US Armed Forces Central Command. Vehicles will “never be used by anyone again”.

The US also left behind the C-RAM missile defense system, which was used to protect the airport from missile attacks. Among other things, the system helped repel five rocket fire by Islamic State jihadist militias on Monday morning.

“We decided to keep these systems running until the last minute before the last US plane takes off,” McKenzie said. “It’s a complicated and time-consuming process to destroy these systems. That’s why we’re demilitarizing them so they can never be used again.” Similarly, 73 aircraft already at Hamid Karzai International Airport were “demilitarized” or disabled by US troops, McKenzie said.

The US military ended its deployment in Afghanistan on Tuesday night after 20 years. The last US military plane took off from the airport in the capital, Kabul, which also marked the conclusion of a military evacuation mission. US President Joe Biden ordered the withdrawal of the entire army by August 31.