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
Sam Baartz Almost a year ago, ARES reported on the appearance of US-made TOW 2A anti-tank guided weapons (ATGW) in Syria. In service with several anti-government groups, the TOW systems were primarily documented in the hands of the so-called ‘moderate Syrian rebels’. Since then, there have been dozens of appearances of these systems. The TOW series of ATGWs were originally
The Small Arms Survey, a Geneva-based research institute, has released a new publication authored by ARES Director N.R. Jenzen-Jones, with contributions from ARES staff members Jonathan Ferguson and Graeme Rice. Research Note 48: Automatic Grenade Launchers looks at the technical features, development history, and usage of this light weapon system. The automatic grenade launcher (AGL), which
Michael Smallwood Armament Research Services has previously covered the sale of arms and munitions in Libya via social media sites. This latest example of note shows the gripstock for a 9K32M Strela-2M man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) (NATO reporting name: SA-7b ‘Grail’) being offered for sale in a private Facebook group which acts as a
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
N.R. Jenzen-Jones According to a freelance journalist on the ground in Sudan and South Sudan, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army – North (SPLA-N) captured a variety of arms and munitions from Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) fighters yesterday, during fighting in Genezya, 18 km east of Kadugli, the capital of the Sudanese border state of South
Michael Smallwood The above image is a still taken from the following video of Kurdish YPG forces fighting the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq uploaded on 29 December 2014. It shows a Kurdish fighter with an RPG-7 type rocket-assisted recoilless weapon, and what appears to be an Iranian tandem-charge RPG-7 projectile. Previously documented in Syria, these
Michael Smallwood Photos out of South Sudan during the last days of 2014 show Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) forces with a Chinese-made QW-2 man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS). Incorrectly identified by some sources as a QW-18, the QW-2 above is identifiable from its battery pack and markings on the weapon gripstock reading “QFJ-2”. Produced by the
Jonathan Ferguson A recent UN investigation following an attack using an explosive device has revealed a snapshot of the types of small arms in use by insurgents active in Mali. Last week, MINUSMA released an image of items recovered from the house of two people who were arrested and handed to Malian authorities. In the
