Alex Harper Images of Iranian weaponry in Iraq have become more frequent in recent months, as clashes between the Islamic State (IS) and its opposition forces have intensified. These weapons are primarily being employed by Shi’a militias such as Kata’ib Hezbollah and the Badr Army, but have also been spotted in the hands of Kurdish Peshmerga
Galen Wright Photos made available via Twitter in July show a new addition to Iraq’s bustling black-market – an Iranian RU60G thermal sight, priced at $5,000 USD. Although Iranian arms have been well documented in Iraq, this example highlights a new concern: unauthorised transfers to secondary users. The RU60G is produced in Iran by the privately operated company Rayan
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
Yuri Lyamin with Michael Smallwood Recent photos to emerge from Iraq show government troops with new Iranian AM50 (sometimes written ‘AM-50’) anti-materiel rifles (AMR) and Russian ORSIS T-5000 sniper rifles. Whilst initially misidentified as the Austrian Steyr HS .50, the photos suggest that these rifles are in fact an Iranian produced copy of the HS .50, known
Armament Research Services is proud to release its second Research Report. Authored by N.R Jenzen-Jones, Yuri Lyamin and Galen Wright “Iranian Falaq-1 and Falaq-2 Rockets in Syria” documents the use of these weapons in Syria’s ongoing civil conflict, and provides a brief history and technical appraisal of the systems and their munitions. Below are some extracts
Mick F. Overview In May 2021, the Taliban began their annual spring offensive into Afghan Government-controlled territory. In previous annual campaigns—despite regularly inflicting a significant number of casualties against Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and achieving some territorial gains—the Taliban were unable to topple the Afghan Government. The 2021 campaign was different. Following an agreement
Jack Shanley & Mick F. Introduction The conflict in Syria fuels a diverse trade in arms and munitions. Many transactions are performed online, providing an opportunity for remote analysis. This article is the first in a series of monthly updates to ARES Research Note 11: Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria. Readers
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
Miles Vining & Ali Richter This article provides a brief summary of night vision devices known to be in Taliban possession. It draws primarily from open sources and addresses both thermal and infrared optics, as well as infrared aiming devices. This is particularly timely given recent attacks by Taliban forces making use of NVDs. Interestingly, whilst some
Miles Vining Editor’s note: This is the second 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. Although the suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (SVBIED) threat from the so
