The value of U.S. military equipment abandoned in Afghanistan is reportedly more than $7 billion, according to a new Pentagon report.
The U.S. gave $18.6 billion of equipment to the Afghan security forces over the course of 16 years beginning in 2005 and ending in August 2021, according to the report, which was first viewed by CNN. Out of that equipment, $7.12 billion-worth was left behind when the Biden administration completed the U.S. military withdrawal from the country last year.
CNN: US left behind $7 billion of military equipment in Afghanistan after 2021 withdrawal, Pentagon report sayshttps://t.co/Qg1YBKmWgr
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) April 27, 2022
In the report, which was mandated by Congress after the withdrawal was complete, the Pentagon makes clear it has no intention to “retrieve or destroy” the abandoned equipment by going back to Afghanistan, meaning the weapons and other equipment now lie in the hands of the Taliban militant group ruling the country. However, much of it may be unusable, as it requires “specialized maintenance” from Pentagon contractors, the report said.
Among the equipment left behind were 78 aircraft worth nearly $1 billion, 9,524 air-to-ground munitions, more than 40,000 military vehicles, including 12,000 Humvees and more than 300,000 weapons, according to CNN. (RELATED: Easter Bunny Appears To Shuffle Biden Away As He Starts Talking About Afghanistan)
The U.S. did transfer some equipment that had either previously been in Afghanistan or was designated to go there to Ukraine instead, including five Mi-17 helicopters, 37,000 howitzer rounds, more than 99,000 40mm grenade cartridges, 119,000 82mm mortar rounds and more than 15 million rounds of Ball rifle ammunition, CNN reported.