Category: Vehicles

Weapons & equipment seized from alleged Russian saboteurs in Ukraine (2022)

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

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Polish AWGŁ-3 Riot Control System

Jip Foxall McTavish with Jack Shanley The unusual Polish AWGŁ-3 less-lethal launcher system, shown in Figure 1.1 in its single-launcher configuration, can be operated as a stand-alone weapon or as part of a crew-served system. This riot control system was developed in the 1970s by the Ośrodek Badawczo-Rozwojowy (OBR; ‘Research and Development Centre’), alongside the

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NATO Fragment Simulating Projectiles (FSPs)

With the continuous development of artillery and as fragmenting artillery projectiles became the norm, fragments propelled by an explosive detonation became the most common cause of injury on the battlefield. During the asymmetric conflicts of the last decades, the widespread use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs)—frequently designed with primary fragmentation in mind and typically generating

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Weapons used by Sinaloa Cartel sicarios in Culiacán, Mexico

The ARES Team Editor’s Note: Readers should be aware that an unusually large number of false posts have been associated with the incident in Culiacán. These include images and video from movies, TV shows, and various other incidents in Mexico and elsewhere around the world, presented as being from this incident. Numerous sources have also presented images

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Houthi forces deploy decoys to counter Coalition airpower

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

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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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ISOF Arms & Equipment Part 4 – Grenade Launchers & Anti-Armour Weapons

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

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Counter-IED Report article: Improvised, craft-produced, and repurposed UAV munitions

ARES Researcher Galen Wright and Director N.R. Jenzen-Jones authored an article which was published in the latest edition of the Counter-IED Report. Since 2016, the use of improvised munitions delivered by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operated by non-state actors – and even some governments – has increased dramatically. The article, which draws largely on three

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ISOF Arms & Equipment Part 3 – Machine Guns

Miles Vining Editor’s note: This is the third 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 and Part 2 (precision rifles) is available here.  Due to the nature of the operations undertaken

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The Islamic State’s use of decoys to counter air power

Paul Mutter Tricks such as strapping mannequins onto spare horses and lighting extra camp fires have been used for centuries to deceive reconnaissance, especially by smaller or more technologically-limited forces. Both Axis and Allied forces made extensive use of decoys during the Second World War. However, modern forces have also seen the benefit of decoy

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