Conflict catalog

1999 Second Chechen War: Weapons and Equipment

Russian counterinsurgency and war against Chechen separatist and militant forces.

The 1999 Second Chechen War was Russia's counterinsurgency campaign against Chechen separatist and militant forces after the 1999 invasion of Dagestan and renewed fighting in Chechnya.

This catalog tracks weapon systems documented in the 1999 Second Chechen War.

Entries should be limited to systems with direct conflict-use sourcing.

11 weapon systems

Russia

10 weapon systems in this catalog

Russia

Chechen separatist and insurgent forces

2 weapon systems in this catalog

Chechen separatist and insurgent forces

Context

Status: Published catalog

Su-25, Ground-attack aircraft, Aircraft & UAVs

Aircraft & UAVsSu-25Ground-attack aircraftSide: RussiaRole: Close air support and strikeBuilt: Sukhoi / Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant / United Aircraft Corporation / Soviet Union / Russia / GeorgiaThe Su-25 is a Soviet-designed armored close air support aircraft built for low-level battlefield strike, rough-field operation, and heavy stores carriage. Developed by Sukhoi and produced in Soviet, Russian, and Georgian factories, the twin-engine subsonic jet combines a protected cockpit, internal 30 mm cannon, and multiple pylons for rockets, bombs, missiles, and adapted guided weapons, with documented use from Afghanistan and Iraq to Darfur, Syria, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Ukraine.

MANPADS, Man-portable air-defense system, Air Defense

Air DefenseMANPADSMan-portable air-defense systemSide: Chechen separatist and insurgent forcesRole: Shoulder-fired missile ambush against Russian aviationBuilt: Various manufacturers / Multiple countriesMANPADS are shoulder-fired or small-team portable surface-to-air missile systems used for very-short-range defense against low-flying aircraft and helicopters. This generic entry is reserved for directly sourced MANPADS, shoulder-fired SAM, or pattern-level conflict use where the public evidence does not identify a specific Strela, Igla, Stinger, or other missile model with enough confidence.

BTR-80, 8x8 amphibious armored personnel carrier, Armored Vehicles

Armored VehiclesBTR-808x8 amphibious armored personnel carrierSide: RussiaChechen separatist and insurgent forcesRole: Armored personnel carrier and captured vehicleBuilt: Arzamas Machine-Building Plant / RussiaThe BTR-80 is a Soviet-designed 8x8 amphibious armored personnel carrier built to move motor rifle troops under armor while giving them heavy machine-gun fire support. Rosoboronexport describes it as a combat wheeled vehicle for transporting motor rifle units, and the type remains widespread across former Soviet and export operators more than four decades after introduction.

BTR-D, Airborne amphibious tracked armored personnel carrier, Armored Vehicles

Armored VehiclesBTR-DAirborne amphibious tracked armored personnel carrierSide: RussiaRole: Russian airborne armored personnel carrierBuilt: Volgograd Tractor Plant / Soviet Union / RussiaThe BTR-D is a Soviet airborne tracked armored personnel carrier derived from the BMD-1 chassis for VDV units, trading the BMD turret for a longer troop compartment while retaining amphibious, air-droppable mobility and a family role as the base for airborne anti-tank, air-defense, recovery, command, and mortar-support vehicles.

2S5 Giatsint-S, 152 mm tracked self-propelled gun, Artillery

Artillery2S5 Giatsint-S152 mm tracked self-propelled gunSide: RussiaRole: Self-propelled artillery fire supportBuilt: Uraltransmash / Perm Machine-Building Plant / Soviet UnionThe 2S5 Giatsint-S is a Soviet 152 mm tracked self-propelled gun built for long-range corps- and army-level fire support. Its open rear-mounted 2A37 gun gives it greater reach than many older Soviet 152 mm systems, while its tracked chassis and stabilizing rear spade support shoot-and-move artillery work. Sources document 2S5 use or fielding context from Afghanistan and Chechnya through the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War, with additional wartime transfer evidence for Ethiopia during the Eritrean-Ethiopian War.

2S19 Msta-S, 152 mm tracked self-propelled howitzer, Artillery

Artillery2S19 Msta-S152 mm tracked self-propelled howitzerSide: RussiaRole: Tracked self-propelled fire-support artilleryBuilt: Uraltransmash / Sterlitamak Machine Construction Factory / Soviet Union / RussiaThe 2S19 Msta-S is a Soviet-designed, Russian-produced 152 mm tracked self-propelled howitzer that combines a 2A64 gun, armored cross-country mobility, automated loading, and later digital fire-control upgrades. The 2S19M1 branch adds automated guidance and command-and-control integration, while official Rostec reporting describes the 2S19M2 / 2S33 Msta-SM2 branch with ASUNO-M fire control, electronic mapping, automatic laying recovery, and a 10-round-per-minute aimed firing rate. Its combat record spans Russian use in Chechnya and Ukraine, Ethiopia's wartime Msta fleet, and Ukrainian operation of captured Msta-S systems.

2S4 Tyulpan, 240 mm self-propelled heavy mortar, Artillery

Artillery2S4 Tyulpan240 mm self-propelled heavy mortarSide: RussiaRole: Urban siege fire supportBuilt: Uraltransmash / Soviet Union / RussiaThe 2S4 Tyulpan is a Soviet 240 mm self-propelled heavy mortar built around a large breech-loaded 2B8 mortar on a tracked chassis. Its unusually heavy bombs, guided and special-purpose ammunition options, and low rate of fire make it a siege and bunker-attack weapon rather than a conventional rapid-fire howitzer. Soviet and Russian forces used it in Afghanistan and Chechnya, and Russian forces have fielded or lost examples in Ukraine, where its size and firing signature make it a high-value counter-battery target.

Tochka-U, Road-mobile tactical ballistic missile system, Artillery

ArtilleryTochka-URoad-mobile tactical ballistic missile systemSide: RussiaRole: Operational-tactical missile strikesBuilt: Kolomna Machine Building Design Bureau (KBM) / Soviet Union / RussiaTochka-U is the upgraded 9K79-1/OTR-21 short-range tactical ballistic missile system, carried on a wheeled transporter-erector-launcher and designed for battlefield strikes with high-explosive or cluster warheads. Its public combat record spans post-Soviet, Middle Eastern, and South Caucasus wars, from Russian use in Chechnya and Georgia to Houthi launches in Yemen and documented Russian and Ukrainian Tochka-U use in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.

PKP Pecheneg, 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, Infantry Weapons

Infantry WeaponsPKP Pecheneg7.62 mm general-purpose machine gunSide: RussiaRole: Special-forces machine-gun fire supportBuilt: TsNIITochMash / Degtyaryov Plant / RussiaThe PKP Pecheneg is a Russian 7.62x54mmR belt-fed general-purpose machine gun developed from the PKM to solve sustained-fire problems with a heavier, jacket-cooled barrel, forced-air cooling, a mirage-shielding carry handle, and a forward bipod. Russian sources place production at Kovrov in 1999 and service acceptance in 2001, with later documented use by Russian forces, Syrian special forces, Russian-backed separatists, and Ukrainian troops, plus naval mounting on Russian patrol and assault craft.

RPO-A Shmel, Disposable shoulder-fired thermobaric rocket launcher, Infantry Weapons

Infantry WeaponsRPO-A ShmelDisposable shoulder-fired thermobaric rocket launcherSide: RussiaRole: Urban assault thermobaric weaponBuilt: KBP Instrument Design Bureau / RussiaThe RPO-A Shmel is a Soviet-designed, Russian-produced 93 mm disposable rocket flamethrower built around a thermobaric fuel-air explosive round. Adopted in 1988 after mid-1980s development, it became a close-assault weapon for caves, bunkers, buildings, and fortified urban positions, with documented appearances from Afghanistan and Chechnya through Syria, Ukraine, and Gaza.

1V12(M) Mashina-S/Faltset fire control system, Tracked artillery command and fire-control system, Support Equipment

Support Equipment1V12(M) Mashina-S/Faltset fire control systemTracked artillery command and fire-control systemSide: RussiaRole: Russian artillery command and fire-control component vehiclesBuilt: Motovilikha Plants / Soviet Union / RussiaThe 1V12 Mashina-S is a Soviet tracked artillery command and fire-control set for self-propelled artillery battalions, later modernized as the 1V12M Faltset family. Built around MT-LBu-based command vehicles, the set includes 1V13(M) battery fire-control centers alongside battalion and battery command vehicles, linking reconnaissance, topographic preparation, meteorological inputs, and firing-data calculation for systems such as 2S1, 2S3, 2S4, 2S5, 2S7, and 2S19. Loss trackers and Ukrainian reporting document Russian 1V12-family vehicles destroyed, abandoned, and captured during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.