For a number of months there's been increasing evidence of the Syrian military using BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers in the conflict, including leaked videos showing launches, and unexploded rockets, as shown below
Recently images have been posted online showing the use of the 122mm rockets fired by the BM-21 Grad being used by groups belonging to the Syrian armed opposition, including this photograph from Jabhat al-Nusra
As you'll note, this is not the usual firing platform for a 122mm rocket, but a series of videos posted by the Syria Martyrs Brigade (Shuhada Souria) shows that this isn't the only example of a 122mm rocket being launched in less than ideal conditions
As Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch stated during the Libyan conflict "the Soviet-made Grad in particular is one of the world's most inaccurate rocket systems", and I'd imagine propping the rockets up against rocks and trees instead of using a BM-21 Grad to launch them does nothing to help their accuracy, and makes their usefulness rather questionable.
Update February 16th It now appears the opposition has dropped trees as their launching platform and have instead opted for a DIY launcher, which can be seen in the below video
Earlier this week I wrote about the recent use of BM-21 Grad rocket launchers in Syria, and today I've been provided a video by Yalla Souriya showing another unexploded rocket from these launchers, with some very interesting items at the end of the video
The SAKR Factory for
Developed Industries produces two types of 122mm surface-to-surface rockets:
the SAKR-18 and SAKR-36, containing 72 and 98 M42D submunitions, respectively.
So this brings us to the items shown later on in the video
The image quality isn't great, but you get a sense of what they look they, a small munition with what's known as a "drag ribbon" attached, which unfurls when the bomblet is deployed and acts to stablise and arm the bomblet. One problem with this is it also results in the bomblet getting caught up in trees and bushes, presenting an UXO hazard. Unfortunately I've been unable to find a reference image for a M42D bomblet, but here's a couple of example of other very similar bomblets via the Cluster Munition Coalition
You'll note the US made M42 submunition looks very similar, which, based off the designation, makes me wonder if the M42D is a copy of that munition.
In lieu of a reference image for the M42D I cannot say for certain
that the submunitions in the video are M42Ds, but based off the type of
rocket pictured in the video it seems highly likely we have the first
evidence pointing towards a new type of cluster munition being used in
Syria by the Syrian army.
Update December 16th Thanks to Mark Hiznay for pointing me to this reference image of a M42D cluster bomblet, which appears to match the submunition shown in the video
Update January 3rd 2013 This new video has been posted showing a much clearer shot of the submunitions, which appears to match with the above pictured M42D
Update January 7th Thanks to Nic Jenzen-Jones of the Rogue Adventurer blog for providing me with this video of a sales video for these rockets, with good cutaway models showing how the bomblets are held inside the rocket
In the past month those of us tracking the use of arms in the Syrian conflict have noted a fresh escalation in the conflict. We've seen RBK cluster bombs deployed with ZAB incendiary munitions along with ZAB-100-105 incendiary bombs, as well as reports of Scud missiles being used. One other part of this apparent new escalation is the increasingly widespread use of BM-21 Grad rocket launchers, shown here in a clip leaked from Assad's forces firing from Bosra al-Hareer, Daara
BM-21 Grad's can be loaded with 40 rockets, which can be fired of ranges between 20-40km depending on the rocket, and while they've made the occasional rare appearance in the conflict it seems they are being used on an increasing basis, with a couple of examples of missile remnants from the Idlib and Aleppo regions pictured below
A number of more recent videos have been posted showing unexploded missiles, giving us a clear look at what they look like
It's been claimed in some of these videos that these are Iranian Saqr rockets, but the below logo present in each video suggests another source
- The Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) is one of the largest industrial organizations in Egypt.
- It is State-owned and enjoys an international status that gives it complete flexibility in decision-making.
- AOI strategies are drawn by a Supreme Committee whose Chairman is the President of Egypt and whose membership comprises several Cabinet ministers.
On this link you see some of the military products it creates, including 122mm rocket systems.
In Human Rights Watch's April 2011 report on the use of Grad rockets on civilian areas in the Libyan Civil War Peter Bouckaert, the emergencies director at Human Rights Watch states that "the Soviet-made Grad in particular is one of the world's most inaccurate rocket systems and should never be fired in areas with civilians" and goes on to say "firing indiscriminately into civilian areas is a clear violation of the laws of war", something there appears to be increasing evidence of in Syria.
