Unexploded Cluster Bomblets Repurposed As DIY Rocket Warheads

Over the past month we've seen large numbers of cluster bombs being dropped by the Syrian Air Force across Syria, leaving unexploded bomblets across the country.  These are extremely unsafe and leave a long term UXO threat that one group in Syria has taken a rather novel approach to removing.  In this following video filmed in Hama from one of the groups that make up Al-Farouq Brigade we see something quite remarkable, cluster bomblets being repurposed as warheads for DIY rockets.

At the start of the video we see the bomblets being plucked from the ground, itself extremely dangerous, and the fuze being removed.  We then see the rocket workshop with rows of these bomblets on the ground, all with the fuzes removed, and we're then shown a bomblet having it's tail fins removed, and replaced with a fitting that then allows it to be screwed into the rocket.  A newly manufactured fuze is screwed into the bomlet/warhead, completing the rocket.

What this video shows isn't just simply the bomblets being used as warheads, but that there's an entire manufacturing process behind this, with new fuzes being made, the new fitting being designed and manufactured specifically for this task, and the rockets being designed around carrying the bomblets as a warhead.  It really shows how sophisticated the manufacturing process for making these DIY weapons has become.

Thanks to @HamaEcho for the video.

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You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

The Free Syrian Army's DIY Rocket Workshop

A rather unique video from Syria has been posted online that shows a weapons workshop operated by the Free of the North Battalion, who are based in the Aleppo and Idlib region

Bjørn H Jespersen who has his own great blog looking at Syria has been examining the video with me, and we've come to the following conclusions about the video. The workshop seems dedicated to making ammo for this six barreled launching device, which itself appears to be homemade

The men in the workshop appear to be working on different parts of the rocket.  For example, this one is working on fuses for the ends of the rockets

 

This image shows the rockets at two different stages, on the left you see the rockets before what appears to be small stabiliser fins have been attached to the end of the rocket, which you can see on the right

It appears the thin tubes with holes punched in them might come from RPG rounds, an example of which you can see here

At around 1:50 in the video you see a sack of explosives, and later on a pile of what looks like completed rockets

That's around 21-22 finished rockets, with around 20 unfinished rockets shown in other parts of the video, and parts for a further 10 or so also shown.  What's unclear is the propulsion system for the rockets, or any details of how effective they would be, but it does show that much like the Libyan rebels the FSA are turning to DIY weaponry to make up the shortfalls in their armaments. You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com