Tag Archives: Syria
Two New Publications: Ammunition in Syria & AGLs for the ADF
Whilst the bulk of my attention lately has gone into writing for (and running!) Armament Research Services (ARES) and our blog, The Hoplite, I have had two new pieces released elsewhere recently. First, for the Small Arms Survey, I wrote a report examining small-calibre ammunition documented in Syria. From the Survey press release: The Working Paper Following […]
Yuri Lyamin and I have written on the recent capture of Syrian Khaibar-1 rockets by the IDF. An extract is below, but you can read the full article here. One of the greatest mysteries of the Syrian military industrial complex is a 302 mm rocket system known as the Khaibar-1 (also referred to as the […]
Improvised use of S-5 rockets in land warfare
Yuri Lyamin and I have authored the first ARES Research Report, “Improvised Employment of S-5 Air-to-Surface Rockets in Land Warfare”, which aims to provide a brief history and technical appraisal of a battlefield phenomenon which has received little attention to date. Below are some extracts from the publication, which can be read in full here […]
9M55K cargo rockets and 9N235 submunitions in Syria
Yuri Lyamin and I have written a new post for the ARES company blog, The Hoplite, on the presence of 9M55K cargo rockets and 9N235 fragmentation submunitions in Syria. Two interesting videos have surfaced from the area around the town of Kafr Zita, in the northern part of Syria’s Hama governorate. In recent days, heavy […]
Markings abraded on Iranian rifles in Gaza
The picture above shows what is likely an Iranian-produced copy of the Steyr HS .50 anti-materiel rifle (AMR) in the hands of a fighter from Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades, in Gaza. The Iranian copy of the HS .50 is known as the ‘AM50’, and appears to incorporate a handful of minor changes. Several such AMRs have […]
Did Chinese HJ-8E ATGWs in Syria Originate in Sudan?
In recent months, Chinese HJ-8E anti-tank guided weapons (ATGWs) have been documented in the hands of anti-government fighters in Syria. The HJ-8 (Hong Jian-8, or “Red Arrow-8”) is a second generation ATGW, operating on the semi-automatic command to line-of-sight (SACLOS) principle. Use of the HJ-8 requires that the operator continually keep the target in the […]
UN report confirms use of CW in Syria
A brief post to note that the UN report on the now-confirmed chemical weapons (CW) attacks on Ghouta has been released. It appears that many commentators and analysts, including myself, were correct in pointing to the unknown munition detailed in my previous posts as the probable delivery mechanism for CW agent in these attacks. The […]
Update: Alleged CW munitions in Syria
This piece is an update to my two earlier pieces examining the unidentified munitions alleged to have been used in chemical weapons (CW) attacks in Syria. It should be stressed that this is still a preliminary analysis of the photographic and videographic material available. It is still not clear whether these munitions carried a CW payload, nor are their […]
Alleged CW munitions in Syria fired from Iranian Falaq-2 type launchers
Note: this piece is intended as a follow-up to my earlier, preliminary analysis of the unidentified munitions claimed to have been used to deliver chemical agents in Syria. It will repeat a little of the material covered in the earlier piece as it is intended to be translated and made available in Arabic. It should be stressed […]
Preliminary analysis of alleged CW munitions used in Syria
UPDATE: I have posted an update containing several important details. UPDATE 31/08/2013: A second update including more details is available here. In recent days, the world’s attention has been focused on the alleged chemical weapons (CW) attacks in Syria. This post will seek to examine the alleged delivery system used in these attacks, and provide a preliminary analysis […]
The Rogue Adventurer 