This is wrong, so let's examine the "test weaponry on armor" argument. Russia has captured humvees and M113 from Syria, Iran has a lot of experience destroying humvees, and the Iranian-backed Houthis have captured plenty of more advanced Emirati/Saudi M-ATV and MaxxPro MRAPs.
The Taliban has captured equipment provided to the ANSF, but they did not capture much, if any, equipment that belongs to the US military. The arms provided to Afghanistan were designed for fighting insurgents, not a national military, so it isn't very sensitive equipment. 2/
When US contractors left they took the sensitive equipment/software from Afghanistan's helicopters. The early withdrawal of US forces meant the ANSF would collapse quickly, but it also meant the most important equipment was withdrawn before July. 3/
ScanEagle UAVs are 20-year-old equipment. A much more sensitive American RQ-170 Sentinel UAV crashed in Iran in 2011, and China got their hands on the wreckage of the stealth Black Hawk from the Bin Laden raid, so these Black Hawks aren't a huge deal. 4/
Just because mistakes were made does not mean everything was done incompetently. I would argue the withdrawal was a significant success for the US military's logistics, lift, and other support functions (which made up for planning mistakes). 5/
The ~$80 billion figure is for *all* financial assistance to the ANSF since 2002. Only 29% was for equipment, much of which was destroyed long ago. Much of the Afghan Air Force's aircraft is now in Tajikistan or Uzbekistan. The Taliban doesn't have $80 billion worth of equipment.
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Thread: The Zapad 2021 operational-strategic exercise has begun in Russia and Belarus with the opening ceremony at the Mulino training area in Nizhny Novgorod (one of the primary ranges for the exercise). The last Zapad exercise occurred in 2017.
The operational-strategic exercise is the most important training event each year for the Russian military, and it rotates between Russia's four main military districts. The past three:
-Southern: Kavkaz 2020
-Central: Tsentr 2019
-Eastern: Vostok 2018
2/
The Northern Fleet was upgraded to a military district last year, but there is no indication it will get its own operational-strategic ex. It typically conducts a simultaneous exercise with the annual exercise and appears to be even more incorporated into this year's Zapad. 3/
Another high-profile Russian military corruption case. Major General Ruslan Alakhverdiev, the Deputy Chief of Engineering Troops, who was responsible for their procurement, was charged with taking bribes worth at least 8 million rubles from contractors. iz.ru/1219084/alekse…
Alakhverdiev has reportedly played a key role in the development of Russia's engineering troops, who have undergone a series of reforms in part influenced by Syria, including the development of assault sapper units and UGVs. 2/
He reportedly took bribes from construction companies that worked on defense contracts (presumably, he helped steer contracts to them). He also used a subordinate to work at his dacha, which was a common issue in the 1990s and early 2000s with senior Russian officers. 3/
July 31: Su-35S crash in Khabarovsk
Aug 11: civilian Mi-8 crash in Kamchatka
Aug 14: Russian Be-200ES crash in Turkey
Aug 17: Il-112V crash in Kubinka
Aug 18: MiG-29SMT crash in Astrakhan
Aug 23: MiG-29SMT catches on fire on the ground in Astrakhan
Aug 27: Su-24 crash in Perm
An Ansat helicopter also made a hard landing on August 23rd. TASS reports that the Su-24 crashed immediately after take off and Interfax reported that both crewmembers ejected safely. Just a really bad month for Russian aviation. 2/ militarynews.ru/story.asp?rid=… tass.ru/proisshestviya…
The Army Defense Expo means the dynamic display in Alabino with plenty of ATGM launches, starting with a double-Kornet ATGM launch from a K-17 Bumerang. Looks like the first was a near miss but the second hit the target.
At last year's display, there was quite a large number of ATGM misses. 2/
Thread on the Army 2021 Defense Expo. Rosoboronexport said that 35 foreign delegations will attend the expo. The T-90MS and T-14 Armata tanks, Su-57 fighter, and Antey-4000 air defense system will be displayed among other weapon systems. tass.com/defense/1327911