The impression I get from the various reports is that commercially available equipment that would have been obtainable from the open market or to US allies was left as is, while anything that involved anything particularly sensitive had their sensitive bits destroyed. In the old days, abandoned guns were spiked so they couldn't be turned on their original users. Later on, guns and vehicles had their sights smashed. All military vehicles have contingency procedures in case their crew have to abandon them in a hurry, with the sensitive parts disabled so they couldn't be reverse engineered. The crew of the famous Tiger 131 (seen in Fury) were supposedly ostracised in the Tiger reunion they went to precisely because they'd failed to do this. The last battle on British soil, the Battle of Graveney Marsh, took place because the German crew were busy smashing up their bomber and approaching British soldiers mistook it for hostile fire.
Either way, my earlier point still stands. The Taliban do not have billions of dollars of military equipment captured from the Americans, but a load of scrap metal and small arms. They have a load of stuff for free that they'd otherwise have to pay for on the open market, but everything they have they can get on the open market. If the Chinese and Russians want to buy this discarded US military equipment, they'll undoubtedly get some bargains, but they won't be getting any sensitive gear. I'd assumed all that stuff would be destroyed, and the above article confirms it.
Yeah I understand and agree with the points your making, everything in US hands was made inoperable. am talking about all the Afghan regions who did a deal with the Taliban, was their equipment under US control?
I don't know all the facts but as I say Biden said he gave the Afghans everything they needed to fight the Taliban so I assume all the weapons handed over to the Taliban outside Kabul are operable. all opinion of course, Bidens addressing the nation tonight and he might give us more info.
Inventory before the 2021 Taliban offensive
Multiple helicopters including UH-60 Black Hawk and Mil Mi-17 were destroyed during 2021 Taliban offensive.[78] Multiple helicopters including Mil Mi-24, MD 530F Cayuse Warrior, UH-60 Black Hawk and Mil Mi-17 were also captured by the Taliban.[79][78]
During the Fall of Kabul, at least 22 military planes and 24 helicopters carrying 585 Afghans fled to Uzbekistan. One Afghan Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano crashed after crossing the border, Uzbek authorities issued conflicting reports on the cause. Two Afghan military planes carrying over 100 soldiers also landed on the Tajik city of Bokhtar.[80][81]
Initial estimates of AAF aircraft captured by the Taliban, according to photographic/video evidence, included 13 aircraft, 38 helicopters, seven Boeing Insitu ScanEagle UAVs, and 73 additional aircraft reportedly disabled by U.S. forces before they departed.[82]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_Air_Force#Inventory_before_the_2021_Taliban_offensive
