The Hoplite

ARES releases Special Report 5: Cluster Munitions & Submunitions in Syria

Armament Research Services (ARES) is pleased to announce the release of Special Report No. 5, Cluster Munitions & Submunitions in Syria: A Technical Appraisal. Special Report 5 is the culmination of nearly a decade of ARES research into the use of cluster munitions and submunitions in the Syrian Civil War, covering a wide range of

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Bersa Lusber 84 used in assassination attempt on Argentinian Vice President

Patrick Senft On the evening of 1 September 2022, Argentina’s Vice President, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, survived an assassination attempt outside her Buenos Aires home. The would-be assassin pointed his handgun at Ms. Kirchner (see Figure 1) and reportedly pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. Nonetheless, media reporting has claimed that the weapon was loaded—and thus

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Introducing the ARES Arms & Munitions Classification System (ARCS)

ARES is delighted to announce the first public release of the ARES Arms & Munitions Classification System, a new handbook designed to increase clarity and precision in how arms and munitions are defined and classified. The culmination of several years’ work by ARES and external specialists, ARCS offers a series of clear, technically focused definitions

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Craft-produced firearm used to assassinate Shinzo Abe

N.R Jenzen-Jones & Patrick Senft Around 1130 hrs local time on 8 July 2022, former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzō; 安倍 晋三), was shot in Nara, Japan, with a craft-produced (‘privately made’) firearm. Videos of the shooting suggest that the assailant was within a few metres of the former Prime Minister when

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ARES releases Research Report 12: Digital Bazaar (online arms trade, Syria)

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

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FGC-9 3D-printed firearm seized in Western Australia

N.R. Jenzen-Jones & Patrick Senft On 12 June 2022, the Western Australia Police Force (WAPOL) held a press conference to present the first fully functional 3D-printed firearm seized in the Australian state of Western Australia (WA) to date. The gun was reportedly seized on 3 June 2022 from an 18-year-old individual who had manufactured it

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Soviet 3-Z-2 incendiary mortar projectiles documented in Ukraine (2022)

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

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Russian PTKM-1R Top-attack Anti-vehicle Mine Documented in Ukraine (2022)

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

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Soviet or Russian 9M22S incendiary rockets documented in Ukraine (2022)

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 122 mm incendiary rockets (see Figure

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Russian POM-3 anti-personnel landmines documented in Ukraine (2022)

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).

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