[Baron von Kriterium]

With respect to the Taliban's new found loot, yes, they have a sizeable new arsenal, but...

- It’s not as large as some reports are saying;
- They can’t use all of it;
- They can use a lot of it;
- They probably can't maintain all of it; and
- They probably can maintain a lot of it.

The Sunday Times had a graphic that showed 33 x UH-60 Blackhawks in the Taliban's inventory. However, there is only an accounting of seven. Four or serviceable; three are not. But, someone is flying the Blackhawks; I doubt it's Taliban, though. Probably ex-ANA guys. The Blackhawks were over-maintained in Afghanistan so they should be ok for awhile. They can cannibalize the current broken fleet assuming they have mechs. I doubt they do.

The Mi17s are the intriguing items, not the Blackhawks. Parts and expertise are in Pakistan or they can hire mercenaries.

The aforementioned Times graphic has +30,000 Humvees, MRAPs, etc in the Taliban motor pool. But, the verified number is 2086 (106 destroyed; 1980 captured). There isn't really anything unique about these vehicles from a maintenance perspective. Here, too, they can cannibalize deadheads to keep the runners on the road.

Can they use a D-30 howitzer in an indirect fire mode? No, but they can use them in a direct fire role.