U.S. 'Star Wars Robot' Tasked with Shooting Down Missiles Stops ISIS-K Rocket Attack on U.S. Planes Leaving Kabul Airport
Celebratory gunfires light up part of the night sky after the last US aircraft took off from the airport in Kabul early on August 31, 2021. - The US military announced it has completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan after a brutal 20-year war -- one that started and ended with the hardline Islamist Taliban in power, despite billions of dollars spent trying to rebuild the conflict-wracked country. AFP via Getty Images

Dubbed as the "Star Wars robot," the U.S. forces C-RAM shut down missiles fired by jihadist terrorists at Kabul airport while the U.S. troops were preparing for the last American planes to leave Afghanistan.

Also called "R2 D2" by U.S. troops after the iconic Star Wars character, the C-RAM has a powerful machine gun that could fire up to 4,500 rounds in just a minute.

CRAM: Centurion Counter-Rocket, Artillery and Mortar Defense System

Originally known as the Centurion Counter-Rocket, the Artillery and Mortar defense system or CRAM uses radar to detect, evaluate and take out approaching missiles.

Aside from its power, another advantage of the "R2 D2" is that it could be controlled remotely. It could be operated and rotated up to 300 degrees at 115 degrees per second.

According to Daily Mail, the CRAM was put into action Monday to take down five rockets launched at Hamid Karzai International Airport by terror group ISIS-K.

ISIS-K has claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing attacks outside Kabul airport on Thursday, which claimed 170 lives, including 13 U.S. army service members.

Based on the report of the Pentagon, Army General Major Hank Taylor said the C-RAM "successfully" took out one of the five rockets launched at the airport Monday, while the other three did not even make it to the airfield.

However, the U.S. later admitted that one of the rockets launched by the terrorist group did manage to enter the airport that houses thousands of individuals each day. Luckily, it did not detonate.

Taylor noted that they have assessed that the five rockets were in the air, but when CRAM countered the attack, three landed off the airfield with no effect. He also mentioned that the C-RAM was able to affect and thwart the attack. The one or the other rocket landed with no effect on the mission or any danger to our personnel.

"The force protection C-RAM did work, it did engage and had an effect on the one, and then one did land in an area ... and it was not effective," Taylor noted.

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'Star Wars Robot': U.S. Army's Counter Attack Artillery

The C-RAM was developed in 2004 to counter the attacks of the terrorists during the insurgency in Iraq. It is based on the Navy's Phalanx CIWS system. It has a far shorter range than the Iron Dome, the system that Israel has used in the past to shoot down rockets fired by Hamas in Gaza.

The "Star Wars robot" was less effective, but it made successful missile takedowns and made itself known with a piercing drill sound.

The Pentagon said the C-RAM was successful in neutralizing the attack from terrorists on Monday, who had fired the missiles at the airport's airstrip from the back of a vehicle. Burned-out rocket launchers were later found in the back of a car in the nearby location that apparently burst into flames after firing the missiles.

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Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar - CRAM Gun Test Fire - From AiirSource Military