Tag: mortar

Soviet 3-Z-2 incendiary mortar projectiles documented in Ukraine (2022)

Tony Salvo & N.R. Jenzen-Jones An image shared by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS) via social media in early May depicts what appear to be several Soviet 3-Z-2 (sometimes written ‘3Z2’) 120 mm incendiary mortar projectiles near the city of Mykolaiv, in southern Ukraine (see Figure 1). The items pictured display evidence of

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Soviet 2B9M Vasilek self-loading mortar

Ernő Lovass & N.R. Jenzen-Jones The 2B9M Vasilek (‘Cornflower’) is a muzzle or breech-loading, long recoil-operated automatic smoothbore medium mortar. It is a modernised, air-cooled version of the 2B9 water-cooled mortar, itself derived from the earlier F-82 automatic mortar. Development of the 2B9 began in the late 1960s, with the Soviet army adopting the weapon in 1970. The modernised 2B29M

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Finnish Tampella 160 mm mortar system and extended-range HEFSDS projectile

N.R. Jenzen-Jones & Michael Picard with Samuel Paunila Finnish Origins Since its inception in 1918, the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) have fielded an array of mortar systems – including 60, 81, 120, and 300 mm calibre examples – with all of the munitions for these systems manufactured domestically. While the FDF has not adopted a

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ARES Special Report: Indirect Fire

Artillery systems have played a critical role in modern warfare. Estimates place the total number of casualties inflicted by artillery during the conflicts of the 20th century at between 50 and 80 per cent. The vast majority of munitions fired from artillery systems deliver a high explosive payload and, increasingly, conflicts have taken place in

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Improvised grenade launching attachment for HMGs in Syria

ImproGuns A video posted to social media on 25 November 2016 shows Shi’a militia fighters making use of what appears to be an improvised grenade launching device attached to the muzzle of a DShKM type heavy machine gun (HMG) whilst engaging Islamic State militants near Deir ez-Zor airport in Syria. The device appears to be a

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Maritime Arms Seizures Point to Iran

N.R. Jenzen-Jones US, Australian, and French naval forces operating in the northern Indian Ocean have seized thousands of small arms and light weapons in 2016, likely bound for Yemen. Whilst initial reports indicated the first two seizures were believed to be headed for Somalia, the types of weapons seized indicate that the vessels almost certainly

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Serbian M69A mortar documented in Syria

Ali Richter A video uploaded to YouTube on 26 February 2016 appears to show fighters from the Syrian armed opposition group known as Division 13 operating a Serbian M69A 82 mm mortar near Ayn Daqnah, north of Aleppo. The video title claims the fighters were targeting Kurdish PKK positions. The M69A  mortar, and the 81 mm M69B

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Serbian M02 Coyote HMG and 120 mm mortar projectiles in Syria

Yuri Lyamin with N.R. Jenzen-Jones In recent days, opposition groups within Syria have been documented in possession of Serbian-made arms and munitions. M62P8 120 mm high explosive (HE) mortar projectiles and an M02 Coyote 12.7 x 108 mm heavy machine gun have been identified. Whilst a number of weapons manufactured in the former Yugoslavia have

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United States Mk 14 EBR in Syria

Michael Smallwood Images recently uploaded to Twitter by the Free Syrian Amy’s ‘Division 30’ show combatants with US-made arms. In one image, a Mk 14 EBR (enhanced battle rifle) series weapon is visible in the foreground, while another fighter holds what is likely an M16A4 rifle. The Mk 14 EBR series are self-loading rifles chambered for 7.62 x 51 mm and

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2B9M Vasilek automatic mortar in service with Ansar al-Sham in Syria

N.R. Jenzen-Jones with Yuri Lyamin Ansar al-Sham (كتائب أنصار الشام; ‘Supporters of the Levant’), an Islamist militant group associated with the Islamic Front in Syria (الجبهة الإسلامية; al-Jabhat al-Islāmiyyah), have uploaded a YouTube video showing combatants firing a 2B9M automatic mortar near Mount Chalma, in Syria’s Kesab district. The 2B9M Vasilek (‘Cornflower’) is a breech-loaded, long recoil-operated

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