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This list shows military equipment used by the mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War. The Mujahideen obtained weapons from many sources, mostly supplied by foreign sources, such as the Central Intelligence Agency’s Operation Cyclone, China, Egypt, Iran, Israel and the United Kingdom, and channeled through Pakistan. Many weapons were also captured from the Soviet Army or the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
This includes anti-air and anti-tank weapons used by the Mujahideen, also artillery.
Weapon | Image | Type | Origin | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
DShK[14] | Heavy machine gun | Soviet Union | ||
Type 54 HMG[23] | Heavy machine gun | People's Republic of China | ||
SG-43 Goryunov[13] | Medium machine gun | Soviet Union | ||
KVP[10] | Heavy machine gun | Soviet Union | ||
ZU-23-2[24][25] | Anti-aircraft gun | Soviet Union | Some mounted on trucks and armored vehicles. | |
ZPU | Anti-aircraft gun | Soviet Union | ZPU-1, ZPU-2 and ZPU-4 versions used. | |
Oerlikon 20mm cannon | Anti-aircraft gun | Switzerland | 40 delivered in 1984.[26] | |
RPG-2[14][27] | Rocket-propelled grenade | Soviet Union | ||
RPG-7[10] | Rocket-propelled grenade | Soviet Union | ||
RPG-18 | Disposable rocket launcher | Soviet Union | Captured from Soviet forces | |
RPG-22 | Disposable rocket launcher | Soviet Union | Captured from Soviet forces[28] | |
Type 69 RPG[29] | Rocket-propelled grenade | People's Republic of China | ||
B-10 recoilless rifle | 82mm recoilless rifle | Soviet Union | Chinese Type 65 variant also used. | |
SPG-9 | 73mm recoilless rifle | Soviet Union | ||
Type 56 | 75mm recoilless rifle | People's Republic of China | ||
82-BM-37 | 82mm mortar | Soviet Union | Most widely used artillery piece[28] | |
M1938[30] | 107mm mortar | Soviet Union | ||
Type 63 | 60mm mortar | China | ||
M1942 (ZiS-3) | 76mm field gun | Soviet Union | Captured from DRA forces[28] | |
2A18 (D-30) | 122mm howitzer | Soviet Union | Captured from DRA forces[28] | |
M1938 (M-30) | 122mm howitzer | Soviet Union | Captured from DRA forces[28] | |
Type 63 | 107mm multiple rocket launcher | People's Republic of China | About 500 launchers supplied.[31] | |
Saqar | Multiple rocket launcher | Egypt | Egyptian variant of BM-21 Grad. Delivered in several variants with varying range and caliber.[30] | |
9K32 Strela-2 (SA-7 Grail) | Man-portable air-defense system | Soviet Union | Captured from DRA forces.[10] Egyptian Sakr-eye version also used.[citation needed] | |
9K34 Strela-3 (SA-14 Gremlin)[32] | Man-portable air-defense system | Soviet Union | ||
FIM-43 Redeye | Man-portable air-defense system | United States | 50 launchers delivered.[31] | |
FIM-92 Stinger | Man-portable air-defense system | United States | 800 missiles delivered overall, deliveries began in 1986.[31] | |
HN-5 | Man-portable air-defense system | People's Republic of China | HN-5A and HN-5B versions delivered, about 400 missiles supplied.[31] | |
Blowpipe | Man-portable air-defense system | United Kingdom | 50 launchers and 300 missiles delivered.[31] | |
BGM-71 TOW | Anti-tank guided missile | United States | 80 launchers delivered in 1988[31] | |
MILAN | Anti-tank guided missile | France | 160 launchers delivered in 1988[28] | |
PMN mine | Anti-personnel mine | Soviet Union | [33] | |
M18 Claymore mine | Anti-personnel mine | United States | [33] | |
A.P. Mine No.5 | Anti-personnel mine | United Kingdom | [33] | |
TS-50 mine | Anti-personnel mine | Italy | [33] | |
TM-46 mine | Anti-tank mine | Soviet Union | [33] | |
M19 mine | Anti-tank mine | United States | [33] | |
A.T. Mine G.S. Mark V | Anti-tank mine | United Kingdom | [33] | |
Mk 7 mine | Anti-tank mine | United Kingdom | [33] | |
TC-2.5 mine | Anti-tank mine | Italy | [33] | |
TC-6.1 mine | Anti-tank mine | Italy | [33] | |
PRB M3 mine | Anti-tank mine | Belgium | [33] |
The Mujahideen acquired substantial amounts of armoured vehicles from the DRA, both captured during combat and brought over by defectors but the lack of trained personnel, spare parts and the prevalence of Soviet airpower meant that they were seldom used.[28]
Weapon | Image | Type | Origin | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
T-55 | Main battle tank | Soviet Union | Captured from the DRA, limited use[28] | |
BMP-1 | Infantry fighting vehicle | Soviet Union | Captured from the DRA, limited use[28] | |
BTR-60 | Armoured personnel carrier | Soviet Union | Captured from the DRA, limited use[28] | |
BTR-152 | Armoured personnel carrier | Soviet Union | Captured from the DRA, limited use[28] | |
M113 | Armoured personnel carrier | United States | ~5 given by United States[34] | |
GAZ-66 | Transport truck | Soviet Union | Captured from the DRA[35] | |
ZIL-130[36] | Transport truck | Soviet Union | ||
Toyota Land Cruiser | Pickup truck | Japan | Bought in Pakistan[35] | |
KrAZ-255[37] | Transport truck | Soviet Union |
Malek took his American G3 [bolt-action] rifle and his Soviet TT pistol and walked out of the depot cave.
The Soviet officer dropped his AK-74 and took out his pistol. Doctor Khayat threw a hand grenade at the officer and killed him. Then he crossed the road and took his AK-74 and his Makarov pistol.
We captured 16 Kalashnikovs and I got their commander's Makarov pistol.
Dr. Qudus group had one Soviet PPSH submachine gun, some bolt-action rifles and some other weapons.
The HIH group were armed with AK-47 Kalashnikovs, while the Mohseni group had British Sten guns and other weapons.
Abdul Raluf, standing to my left, was the commander of the Asmir Garrison in Afghanistan's Kunar province. In September 1979, Commander Raluf and his 300 soldiers at a strategic outpost on the border with Pakistan, switched sides, killing the provincial governor, stripping the garrison of weapons and supplies, and joined forces with the Mujahideen. It took another ten years for the Afghan government to fall.
The Soviets captured the weapons of the dead Mujahideen including some AK-47s, a Goryunov machine gun, an RPG-7 and a few AK-74s captured from the Soviets in the past.
The Model M1891/30 is a Russian/Soviet bolt-action rifle or carbine which fires the 7.62x54 cartridge…The Mujahideen called them five-shooters.
British-manufactured .303 bolt-action rifle which was the standard British infantry weapon from 1895 through the Korean War… It has a 10-round magazine and can carry an additional round in the chamber, so the Mujahideen called them 11-shooters.
We had Enfield and G3 bolt-action rifles and a few Kalashnikovs. We lacked the capability to launch major attacks, but conducted hit and run actions. We did not have a base in the mountains, but lived in the village.
We had one RPG-7 with three rounds, two Kalashnikovs, and some Marko Chinese bolt-action rifles. [Footnote:] Marko is the Chinese copy of the German M-88 Mauser.
Gas-operated semi-automatic Soviet carbine with a folding bayonet…The Mujahideen simply called them carbines.
My force was armed with individual automatic rifles (AK-47), light machine guns (RPK), heavy machine guns (PK), light anti-tank grenade launchers (RPG-7), Milan anti-tank missile launchers, 82mm recoilless rifles, 75mm recoilless rifles, 82mm mortars, 107mm Multiple Barrel (twelve barrel) rocket launchers (BM12), Saqar Rocket Launchers, and Stinger shoulder-fired air defense missiles.
Czechoslovak M26 light machine gun which fires from a top-loading 20-round magazine…The Mujahideen called them 20-shooters.
Mujahideen armaments included one Saqar, one BM12, one 122mm howitzer, six 82mm mortars, eight 82mm recoilless rifles and approximately 40 RPG-7s. We also had some ZSU-23-2 antiaircraft guns and some Stinger antiaircraft missiles.
This force had 15 men armed with 2 RPG-2 antitank grenade launchers, a DShK heavy machine gun, a sniper rifle and several AKM assault rifles.
Egyptian 107mm or 122mm MRL. It has one, two, three and four-barrel light-weight launchers. The 107mm (Saqar 20) has a maximum range of 8000 meters and the 122mm (Saqar 30) has a maximum range of 10,800 meters. The 107mm model was more common in Afghanistan. Some Mujahideen state that they had special rounds which enabled the Saqar to reach 20 kilometers and the Saqar 30 to reach 30 kilometers. Saqar means "eagle" in Egyptian
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