Yuri Lyamin In early February, on the eve of 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, a large public exhibition of the defence achievements of the Iranian armed forces and military industry was held. This exhibition, titled Eghtedar 40 (‘Power 40’) showcased Iranian-made ballistic missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), armoured fighting vehicles, surface-to-air missiles (SAMs),
Daniel Hughes Deception is one of the greatest weapons at a creative commander’s disposal. Decoys are just one component of the spectrum of deceptive options available to military leaders. Historically, the use of decoys in modern operations was made famous by the US Army’s Operation Quicksilver. This top secret Second World War operation hired artists and engineers to create
Arms and ammunition are evidence. Many weapons carry marks that, combined with their physical characteristics, reveal important information about them, including their manufacturer, age, and origin. This information, in turn, provides vital clues about the sources and flows of weapons in the area in which they were found. ARES personnel have worked with the Small
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
Kristóf Nagy Introduction The Hungarian-developed and produced 42 M. hand grenade, and the later 42/48 M. variant, became the primary weapon of its class for the Hungarian armed forces from the late phase of the Second World War until the early 1990s. Its reliable, easy-to-manufacture construction and the versatility of employment against a multitude of
Miles Vining Editor’s note: This is the fourth and final part in a series examining the arms and equipment employed by the Iraqi Special Operations Forces, in light of the prominent role played by this unit in recent fighting. Part 1 (personal equipment) is available here, Part 2 (precision rifles) is available here, and Part 3 (machine guns) is
Yuri Lyamin with N.R. Jenzen-Jones On 22 May 2018, images from As-Suwayda governorate in Syria circulated, showing remnants of a Tochka series missile. These were capture in the ARES Conflict Materiel (CONMAT) Database. The 9K79 Tochka tactical missile launcher and, in particular, the 9M79 missile with 9H123F high explosive warhead have been observed in
N.R. Jenzen-Jones Update 21 April 2018: Information released today by US Air Forces Central Command (AFCENT) indicates that standard JASSM cruise missiles were used in the strikes, not the JASSM-ER as previously reported by the Pentagon. A spokesman also noted that F-22 Raptors took part in the operation, presumably flying counter-air. A good summary has been posted at The Aviationist.
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
Yuri Lyamin with N.R. Jenzen-Jones Images shared to social media channels in early November show the remnants of a precision guided artillery projectile documented in Warshafana, Libya. According to the Libya Times, these projectiles were fired against Warshafana by forces of Zintan Military Council which is led by Osama Ajwaily – commander of the Western
