Month: July 2014

Improvised MANPADS batteries employed in Syria

Michael Smallwood The above video, posted on the 24th of June, shows combatants near Syria’s western city of Hama firing a 9K32M (NATO reporting name: SA-7b) man-portable air defence system (MANPADS) with a non-standard battery attached. Other instances of improvised batteries being used with MANPADS have previously been documented in Syria, with one video released

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9K333 Verba MANPADS now in service with Russian military

Boris Karpa (MicroBalrog) The newest Russian man-portable air defence system (MANPADS), the 9K333 Verba (“Pussy Willow”) has been finally issued to the Russian armed forces, having made its appearance with the Ivanovo VDV division after passing Army testing in the summer of 2011 and being confirmed for production in late 2011. The Verba is an

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ZRP-2 mine-clearing line charges captured from Pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine

Yuri Lyamin Amongst various arms and munitions recovered from pro-Russian separatists by Ukrainian forces in recent days, were ZRP-2 Tropa (‘Path’) man-portable mine-clearing line charges. ЗРП stands for ‘заряд разминирования переносной’, or ‘portable mine clearance charge’. The ZRP-2 is designed to create a breach in an antipersonnel minefield under combat conditions. Some modern mines have

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9M27K series cargo rockets used in Ukraine

N.R. Jenzen-Jones Armament Research Services (ARES) was provided earlier today with images showing the remnants of several artillery rockets in Slavyansk, Ukraine. These images show the nose cones and cargo sections belonging to 220 mm 9M27K series cluster munitions. Remains of 9M27K type rockets have previously been photographed in Syria, as identified by ARES here.

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IDF recover various weapons including improvised firearms in Nablus

Jonathan Ferguson Israel Defence Force (IDF) soldiers from the Yahalom (“Diamond”) special unit, recovered hundreds of weapons as well as quantities of ammunition and explosives during a raid in Nablus, West Bank, on 17 June. Prominently featured is an AR-15 with A1 style 20” barrel, A2 style handguards, and fitted with what appears to be a

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Pro-Russian separatists with 9K35 Strela-10 in Lugansk

Boris Karpa (MicroBalrog) Pro-Russian separatists in Lugansk have in their possession a 9K35 Strela-10 launch vehicle, likely captured from Ukrainian stores. In the below videos we can see the vehicle moving through Lugansk along with several BMP infantry fighting vehicles (IFV). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tk4Miv7EwU The Strela-10 (NATO reporting name: SA-13 Gopher) is a vehicle-based short-range surface-to-air missile

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9M55K cargo rockets and 9N235 submunitions in Ukraine

N.R. Jenzen-Jones Video and images circulating on social media networks and in various online forums suggest that 9M55K cargo rockets containing 9N235 fragmentation submunitions may have been used in Kramatorsk, Ukraine. Armament Research Services (ARES) has previously documented these munitions in Syria. The 9M55K rocket is fired from the the 9K58 Smerch (Смерч; ‘Tornado’) 300

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