Has a previously-unseen munition been revealed in #Ukraine?
Recently video appeared showing shelling of a Russian position in the vicinity of Bakhmut, #Donetsk Oblast. The unusual explosions have led to to many theories- but we have a strong idea about what was really used.
Recently video appeared showing shelling of a Russian position in the vicinity of Bakhmut, #Donetsk Oblast. The unusual explosions have led to to many theories- but we have a strong idea about what was really used.
Not so long ago we documented a new type of mortar ammunition with the Ukrainian army - a M971 120mm cargo bomb, which houses 24 M87 dual-purpose AT/AP submunitions in the standard version.
The M971 was originally developed and manufactured in Israel 🇮🇱.
The M971 was originally developed and manufactured in Israel 🇮🇱.
Going by the explosion pattern, bomblet dispersion pattern and quantity, we believe that we are seeing these effective (but controversial) munitions in use.
Given submunition failures and absence of self-destructing feature for the M87 they may have unwelcome long term effects.
Given submunition failures and absence of self-destructing feature for the M87 they may have unwelcome long term effects.
Who supplied them to Ukraine? That's not clear. A very limited number of countries reported possession of such mortar bombs and we tend to believe what we see was exported from a country which previously purchased these bombs from Israel.
If you know more about the M971- feel free to let us know via DM or email!
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