As US abandons army outposts in Afghan, high-end arms, helicopters fall into Taliban hands

In the aftermath of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, one of the biggest fears that haunt the US and the international community is the millions of dollars worth of abandoned US weapons that have fallen into the hands of the terror group. Three days after the Taliban takeover, the US suspended all arms sales to Afghanistan. Reports also claimed that the United States is planning airstrikes on Afghanistan to destroy essential military equipment left behind by its troops. However, the action seems to have come at the eleventh hour. 

Images of the fundamentalist group alongside snazzy weapons had drawn widespread shock within the US and in the international community. The Taliban has been spotted with the latest technology and high-end equipment such as Black Hawk helicopters, drones, A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft, and mine-resistant humvees.

Horrified over the photos, Republican Senators wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin saying that it was 'unconscionable' that high-tech military equipment paid for by US taxpayers has fallen into the hands of the Taliban and their terrorist allies.

US Military Equipment Left Behind In Afghanistan

As per audits on Afghan military, Forbes estimated based on a US GAO (United States Government Accountability Offie) report that $83 billion worth of training and equipment to Afghan security forces since 2001, $3 billion, this year alone. Two key audits-- Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit of U.S. provided military gear in Afghanistan, Special Inspector General For Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) audit of $174 million in lost ScanEagle drones and data from the Department Logistics Agency (DLA) has been used to estimate the costs. 

Aircraft, Helicopters & drones

As per reports, several Black Hawk helicopters and A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft have been seized by the Taliban. Black Hawk helicopters can reportedly cost up to $21 million while a Super Tucano attack aircraft can cost up to $21.3 million. Key PC-12 intelligence places have also fallen into the hands of the fundamentalist group. Aircraft like the C-208 light attack aeroplanes. which are capable enough to carry Hellfire missiles, anti-tank missiles and other weaponry can go for $12.1 million each. Even if the Taliban fails to operate the high-end equipment, if broken down to bits, parts like the control stick for certain military planes has an acquisition value of $17,808 and a fuel tank sells for up to $35,000, as per Forbes.

Weapons, vehicles & communications equipment

Since 2003 the US gave Afghan forces at least 600,000 infantry weapons, including M16 rifles, 162,000 pieces of communication equipment, and 16,000 night-vision goggle devices, according to the GAO report. When it comes to machine guns, each unit of howitzer can reportedly cost up to $500,000, the common price of an M16 rifle is $749 while adding a grenade launcher can push the price of the M16 to $12,032.

Reports had also stated that the Taliban had discovered night-vision devices. A night vision sniper rifle can run as high as $35,000, and the cost for the 16,000 night-vision goggles alone could run as high as $80 million. Radio equipment such as sophisticated receiver transmitters ($210,651); sophisticated radio sets ($61,966); amplifiers ($28,165) and others have also been abandoned by the US in Afghanistan. The Taliban could make billions by choosing to just sell off the latest US technology to countries who want to acquire it.

The report by Forbes has also stated that besides high-end weapons, the Taliban also has access to as many as 7,035 machine guns, 4,702 Humvees, 20,040 hand grenades, 2,520 bombs and 1,394 grenade launchers which were handed over by the US to Afghan forces between 2017-19.