WWE honcho Vince McMahon strapped on some body armor ... grabbed some of his WWE Superstars ... and dropped in on the troops in Afghanistan last week ... and TMZ has the pics.

Vince -- along with the Bella Twins and tag team champ Kofi Kingston -- were escorted to a secret location to hang out with a bunch of brave men and women in uniform.

We're told the wrestlers hung out for a few days -- and everyone had a great time.

Vince wasn't scared about the outing -- since he's been visiting U.S. troops on various overseas military bases for the past 9 years.

Fun fact -- the photos are purposely framed so as not to reveal anything that might tip off where the American bases are located. 

Who knew the WWE was entrusted with war secrets?

In an effort to show their support for the troops, the WWE sent a pair of smokin' hot twins to West Point ... put them in super-tight clothing ... made them run a military obstacle course ... and it was awesome.

28-year old Brie and Nikki Bella rubbed elbows with the cadets at West Point military academy in New York on Tuesday for the annual "Tribute to the Troops" special on NBC.

But it wasn't some dumbed down cakewalk -- the twins had to race through the official course that cadets must complete in order to graduate.

Brie was the victor ... but the real winner ... was America.