Month: October 2015

Russian MRO-A thermobaric rocket launchers in Syria

N.R. Jenzen-Jones A video posted to YouTube on 29 October 2015 shows two Russian-made MRO-A rocket launchers and a Soviet or Russian RPO-A recoilless weapon. According to the video, the weapons were captured by Ajnad al-Sham from Syrian government positions near Skaik village, in Hama governorate. Markings on one of the MRO-A launch tubes indicate

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Brazilian SS-60 cargo rockets employed in Yemen

Update 151119: A 17 October video from the same pro-Houthi news outlet displays rocket remnants from a strike in the Saada governorate with clearly visible markings reading “SS-60 MK4” (see image below).   Recent YouTube video and images posted to social media show a number of unexploded submunitions of a type not yet documented in Yemen. A video

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US M240 GPMG seen with Jabhat al-Nusra fighter in Syria

Michael Smallwood An image posted to Twitter yesterday appears to show a Jabhat al-Nusra fighter in Syria wielding a United States-made M240 series general-purpose machine gun (GPMG), purportedly taken from the US-equipped Free Syrian Army’s Division 30. It is likely to be either an upgraded M240B or an M240L. The M240L was only type classified

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Jabhat al-Nusra re-purposing SPBE and AO-2.5RT submunitions in Syria

Kenton Fulmer Unexploded Russian and Soviet-made submunitions have been documented across the Syrian countryside since the arrival of Russian forces last month. While both the intended destructive impact and prolonged danger of unexploded ordnance (UXO) are well understood results of cluster munitions use, a lesser seen impact is the re-purposing of munitions that have failed

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Renewed use of AO-2.5RT submunitions in Syria

Kenton Fulmer ARES urges those at risk from unexploded munitions to consult with trained individuals before entering contaminated areas. Please see the safety notice below. The recently renewed employment of Soviet era submunitions in Syria has led to significant quantities of the aged munitions failing to function (detonate) as designed. Whilst the employment of SPBE series submunition was covered

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Croatian VHS-D1 rifle in Syria

Michael Smallwood Update 151009: Further information has come to light, showing that these images were first posted to Facebook on 31 August 2013, and 18 March 2014. The earliest appearance of the weapon appears to be 8 April 2013. The combatant pictured appears to be a Druze militiaman. There are photos of numerous other fighters posing with a

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SPBE submunitions employed in Syria

N.R. Jenzen-Jones with Yuri Lyamin Footage uploaded to video sharing platforms in the past few days shows the functioning of submunitions consistent with cargo (cluster) munitions delivered by a Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) series attack aircraft. Photographs of SPBE series submunitions were posted to Twitter and Facebook earlier today, as well as the YouTube video

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Russian forces deploy KAB-500S PGM in Syria

N.R. Jenzen-Jones with Yuri Lyamin Update 151011: The Russian Ministry of Defence has recently uploaded a video to their YouTube channel, showing a Sukhoi Su-34 employing a KAB-500S PGM over Syria. Update 151006: A recent image from Pravda shows Russian technicians with a Su-34 carrying the KAB-500S PGM. Markings present on the munition indicate that

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Russian PMN-4 anti-personnel landmines in Syria

Ivan Kochin with N.R. Jenzen-Jones Recent images released by the Syrian Center for Demining & Rehabilitation (SCDR) feature Russian PMN-4 landmines which were found just west of Daraa, in Southern Syria. In a video dated 28 September 2015, a figure can be seen employing manual demining practices to remove a number of PMN-4 mines. The earlier

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Saudi-led Coalition seizes Iranian arms en route to Yemen

Galen Wright Update 150930: According to the US Navy, which arrived on hand shortly after the intercept was made, the incident occurred on Friday, rather than Saturday. They also noted that the country responsible for boarding the Dhow was a member of the multinational Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). They did not specify which country made the interception. AP

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