Soldier dropped in wearing suitable American equipment (9)
I believe the answer is:
apparatus
'equipment' is the definition.
(apparatus is a kind of equipment)
'soldier dropped in wearing suitable american' is the wordplay.
'soldier dropped in' becomes 'para' (paratrooper, a soldier dropped into a war zone).
'wearing' indicates putting letters inside.
'suitable' becomes 'apt' (I've seen this before).
'american' becomes 'us' (abbreviation for United States).
'para' inserted inside 'apt' is 'apparat'.
'apparat'+'us'='APPARATUS'
(Other definitions for apparatus that I've seen before include "Equipment designed for a specific function" , "Tackle" , "Set of equipment serving a specific purpose" , "Lab equipment" , "Collection of equipment designed for a particular purpose" .)