Trevor Ball & N.R. Jenzen-Jones Editor’s Note: This blog post is linked to entries in the Open-source Munitions Portal (OSMP), a joint project between ARES and Airwars, available at https://osmp.ngo/. OSMP Entry Nos. 513, 514, 548, 549, 579 The use of smoke munitions in modern conflict continues to be misunderstood by non-specialist observers. In extreme circumstances, this
N.R. Jenzen-Jones & Trevor Ball Editor’s Note: This blog post is linked to entries in the Open-source Munitions Portal (OSMP), a joint project between ARES and Airwars, available at https://osmp.ngo/. The use of the Small Diameter Bomb (known in U.S. service and elsewhere as the GBU-39) is increasingly being reported upon in the context of
Patrick Senft Editor’s Note: This blog post is linked to entries in the Open-source Munitions Portal (OSMP), a joint project between ARES and Airwars, available at https://osmp.ngo/. OSMP Entry Nos. 644, 645, 646 & 647 The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has spawned an ecosystem of Russian- and Ukrainian-language military bloggers who share their
Armament Research Services (ARES) is excited to announce the release of Research Report No. 12, Digital Bazaar: The Online Trade of Arms & Munitions in Opposition-controlled Syria. The release of Research Report 12 marks the completion of a project which began with Research Note No. 11, ‘Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria’, and
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
Patrick Senft Images shared to social media indicate that the Russian PTKM-1R (ПТКМ-1Р) top-attack anti-vehicle landmine was recently employed in Ukraine. This munition is not known to have been previously employed on operations. It was shown for the first time outside Russia by Rosoboronexport JSC in November and December last year, when it was displayed
N.R. Jenzen-Jones Editor’s Note: This article draws, in part, on a previous ARES article examining the use of the 9M22S incendiary rocket in eastern Ukraine in 2014. Images shared by ABC News foreign correspondent James Longman via social media earlier today (19 April 2022) show the remnants of 9M22S or 9M28S 122 mm incendiary rockets
Mick F. & N.R. Jenzen-Jones On the 28 March 2022, a pro-Ukrainian Facebook account posted several pictures of Protivopekhotnaya Oskolochnaya Mina 3 (противопехотная осколочная мина; ПОМ-3; POM-3) scatterable anti-personnel (AP) landmines and one КБ ПОМ-3 (KB POM-3) cassette—each holding four POM-3 mines—apparently taken in Kharkiv Oblast, in the east of Ukraine (bordering the Russian Federation).
Mick F. Editor’s Note: This article has an information cut-off date of 9 March 2022. On the morning of 24 February 2022, the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine. The opening strikes were made with air-delivered and surface-to-surface guided and unguided munitions, with the ground invasion commencing immediately after the first attacks. The invasion was focused on
N.R. Jenzen-Jones & Patrick Senft Editor’s Note: This article is based primarily on a previous ARES article documenting the use of the 9N24 submunition and the 9N123K cluster munition in Syria in 2018. Photos posted on Facebook by the Mobile Rescue Centre of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS) show 9N24 submunitions employed by
