Images of American military helicopters in the hands of the Taliban

After military operations are carried out in a country, armies often leave a lot of equipment behind.

The old CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters that the United States has abandoned in Kabul
This is how the US Marines disabled the military vehicles they left in Kabul

That was what happened during the Western withdrawal from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, a disastrous retreat ordered by then-US President Joe Biden, which left valuable military equipment in the hands of the Taliban, a criminal group made up of Islamic extremists who treat women with particular cruelty.

Today, the Taliban have established an Islamist dictatorship in that country, officially called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Like the Hamas terrorists in Gaza, the Taliban have formed a government that includes a "ministry of national defense" which has a Twitter channel where it has been posting images of its personnel and equipment for months.

Among the photos published by that Taliban ministry, the use of American Woodland camouflage uniforms by these Islamists is striking. Although outdated in most Western armies for years, it remains a good camouflage pattern and is available in commercial stores, including some Chinese suppliers. It's not hard to imagine how the Taliban acquired this material. Otherwise, aside from the pitiful appearance of most of their "soldiers," the Taliban seem to have equipped their "special forces" (above) very well carrying Western equipment and American M-4 carbines, likely left behind during the 2021 withdrawal.

It has been known for four years that the Taliban have acquired many Western military vehicles, including the famous American Humvee tactical vehicles (pictured above), as well as mine-resistant trucks and MRAPs. The Taliban also possess some T-55 and T-62 tanks, as well as other armored vehicles of Soviet origin, perhaps left behind by the USSR during the invasion of the 1980s.

The most regrettable thing is seeing images of American-made military helicopters operating with the Taliban "air force". The US military left behind various types of helicopters, including some CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters operated by the State Department. In addition, the Taliban seized some Afghan Air Force aircraft that were not evacuated, including Hughes MD-530F Defender light helicopters (pictured above next to a Soviet-made Mil Mi-17), Embraer A-29 Super Tucano turboprop aircraft manufactured in Brazil and purchased by the US for the former Afghan government, and also some UH-60A Black Hawk helicopters.

According to "The Military Balance 2024" by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Taliban possess eight MD-530F Defender light helicopters and four UH-60A Black Hawk medium helicopters. This equipment was sabotaged during the Western withdrawal from Afghanistan, but apparently the country's new rulers have acquired the means to put it back into service.

Images released by the Taliban government in recent months include MD-530F helicopters armed with Hydra 70 rocket launchers, each capable of firing seven rockets. Some images show these helicopters firing these weapons.

In the images published by the Taliban we can see the MD-530Fs with numbers 285, 292 and 294, all of them armed with rocket launchers.

Regarding the UH-60As, two units are visible in the images, numbered 0-23582 and 0-23716. In June of this year, the Ukrainian website Militarynyi.com published the serial numbers of seven other UH-60As in the hands of the Taliban, so they could currently have at least nine operational UH-60As.

In the released images we can see Taliban fighters practicing fast-rope descents with these helicopters.

The images also include UH-60A crew members wearing Gentex HGU-56/P helmets and maxillofacial masks, equipment used by Black Hawk crews from the United States and other countries.

It's sad to see this military equipment in such bad hands. What we're seeing is a consequence of the disorganized withdrawal in 2021, but also of a way of conducting operations that doesn't seem to take into account that leaving military equipment behind, as the United States does repeatedly, ends up having these effects.