Update 150828: A new image of the Hopak-61 rifle has surfaced (below), taken at the Arms & Security 2015 (ЗБРОЯ ТА БЕЗПЕКА – 2015) expo in Kiev and posted less than an hour ago. The rifle is manufactured by Mayak JSC, and is described as a modernised AKM rifle ‘operational-portable’. Michael Smallwood Amongst arms and equipment
Ivan Kochin with Michael Smallwood Photos uploaded to Ukrainian forums as early as December 2014, and social media sites more recently, show further examples of the comparatively modern Russian 9K135 Kornet (Корнет; ‘Cornet’) anti-tank guided anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) ostensibly being employed by pro-Russian separatist forces in the Ukrainian conflict. The remnants of several 9M133 missile
The above screen grab from video filmed in mid-February shows a Ukrainian government-operated UMZ (Universalnyj Minnyj Zagraditel; universal minelayer) scatterable mine laying system, atop a ZIL-131 truck chassis, operating on Debaltseve road, Ukraine. Designed by the USSR in the late 1970s, the UMZ was adopted by the Soviet Army in the early 1980s, and consists of
Michael Smallwood UPDATED 19 February 2015 A recent report, allegedly from Shakhtersk city, within Ukraine’s Donetsk region, shows pictures of a Russian-designed 96K6 Pantsir-S1 (Панцирь; ‘Cuirass’) air defence system (NATO reporting name: SA-22 Greyhound). Designed by KBP Instrument Design Bureau, the Pantsir-S1 entered service with Russian forces in 2010, and is only known
Jonathan Ferguson Untrained observers frequently confuse superficially similar small arms and light weapon (SALW) systems, particularly with the pressure of covering a current conflict. These mistakes can act as a red herring for those seeking to establish the objective reality on the ground, or at worst, incorrectly act as evidence of involvement by external parties.
Michael Smallwood A press release from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence details the military’s restoration of multiple 2S7 Pion (Пион; ‘peony’) self-propelled artillery systems which have been in storage for over 10 years. The video below shows a Ukrainian military-led team in Rivne working on a 2S7. Interviewed in the video above, Colonel Vadim Rudnitsky suggests
N.R. Jenzen-Jones Recent news reports indicate Russia’s intention to modernise much of its military in the coming years. The commander of Russia’s Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense (RChBD) troops, Maj. Gen. Eduard Cherkasov, announced a focus on so-called ‘flame weapons’ – incendiary, thermobaric and fuel-air explosive (FAE) weapons – describing a program of modernisation and development. “For the future
ARES is excited to announce the release of our latest Research Report, “Raising Red Flags: An Examination of Arms & Munitions in the Ongoing Conflict in Ukraine, 2014“. The report represents the culmination of months of research, identifying and examining over 100 different weapons systems, more than 60 different munitions, and more than 70 different armoured
A recent article from VICE News discusses a cluster munition attack in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on October 2, 2014. ARES produced a conflict damage assessment report for VICE News, and investigated munition remnants and munition impact sites from the attack, identifying the munition used as the Russian 9M27K rocket with 9N128K warhead,
Yuri Lyamin and Michael Smallwood The remnants shown above, recovered from eastern Ukraine in late July, are incendiary components likely to be from the Russian 9M22S rocket. Fired by the BM-21 ‘Grad’ (Град; Hail) multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) and similar systems, the 122 mm 9M22S was developed by the Splav State Research and Production
