US military disables dozens of planes before leaving Kabul airport



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WASHINGTON – The U.S. military disabled dozens of planes and armored vehicles as well as a high-tech rocket defense system at Kabul airport before it left on Monday, a U.S. general said.

Central Command chief Gen. Kenneth McKenzie said 73 planes already at Hamid Karzai International Airport were “demilitarized” or rendered useless by US troops before concluding the two-week evacuation of the country. controlled by the Taliban.

“These planes will never fly again… They can never be operated by anyone,” he said.

“Most of them are not capable of a mission to begin with. But they will certainly never be able to fly again.

He said the Pentagon, which assembled a force of nearly 6,000 troops to occupy and operate Kabul airport when the airlift began on August 14, left behind around 70 MRAP tactical armored vehicles – which can cost up to $ 1 million each – which he disabled before leaving, and 27 Humvees.

The vehicles “will never be used by anyone again,” he said.

The United States also left behind the C-RAM system – counter-rocket, artillery and mortar – which was used to protect the airport from rocket attacks.

The system helped repel a barrage of five Islamic State rockets on Monday.

“We chose to keep these systems in service until the very last minute,” before the last American plane left, McKenzie said.

“It’s a complex and lengthy process to break these systems. We are therefore demilitarizing these systems so that they will never be used again.

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