Article

2022-05-03 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Russian troops stole $5M worth of farm vehicles from a John Deere dealership, which remotely locked the thieves out of the equipment

[Yahoo] Russian troops occupying the Ukrainian city of Melitopol stole nearly $5 million of farm vehicles from a John Deere dealership and shipped some of them more than 700 miles to Chechnya, CNN reported, only to find they had been rendered useless by a remote-locking system that prevented the thieves from turning the equipment on.

Two compound harvesters, valued at $300,000 each, as well as 27 other tractors, seeders, and additional pieces of equipment were stolen from the dealership. But the remote access technology of the equipment, which allows for GPS tracking and some of the vehicles to be remotely operated, prevented them from being used.

"When the invaders drove the stolen harvesters to Chechnya, they realized that they could not even turn them on, because the harvesters were locked remotely," a source familiar with the incident told CNN.

While the equipment could still be scrapped and sold for parts by Russian troops, the source said it is currently lying idle on a farm near Grozny.

Posted by DarthVader 2022-05-03 10:43|| || Front Page|| [11127 views ] Top

#1 That would be 2 tractors, 2 twelve row planters, and an X9, 1450 combine harvester.

Posted by Besoeker 2022-05-03 11:17|| 2022-05-03 11:17|| Front Page Top

#2 CNN is not naming a contact in Melitopol

The numbers are a little jumbled.

Posted by Skidmark 2022-05-03 11:41|| 2022-05-03 11:41|| Front Page Top

#3 Now the russians know how US farmers feel. Except they didn't have to pay for the things to begin with.

Posted by ed in texas 2022-05-03 11:46|| 2022-05-03 11:46|| Front Page Top

#4 The one and only time that DRM in farm equipment turned out to be a good idea.

Posted by Angstrom 2022-05-03 11:55|| 2022-05-03 11:55|| Front Page Top

#5 I can hear some locals, "Yeah, well, they still gonna get ya with the service contracts."

Posted by swksvolFF 2022-05-03 12:11|| 2022-05-03 12:11|| Front Page Top

#6 Start calling them to offer extended warranties.

Posted by Procopius2k 2022-05-03 12:49|| 2022-05-03 12:49|| Front Page Top

#7 P2K: I think that's already countermanded by the Geneva Convention...

Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2022-05-03 14:05|| 2022-05-03 14:05|| Front Page Top

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