Conflict side

Cambodia Weapons and Military Equipment

Cambodia’s side catalog centers on the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces as a constitutional-monarchy military with a territorial army, a militarized gendarmerie, a strong peacekeeping identity, and a border-equipment profile shaped by artillery and mine action.

6 weapon systems
Overview

Cambodia is not a non-state force entry. The catalog is built around the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, a national military whose commander-in-chief sits under the Ministry of National Defence while the King remains constitutionally tied to supreme command.

That structure matters because Cambodia’s connected catalog is not a broad conventional-arms inventory. It is heavily weighted toward artillery, mortars, and landmines, which matches the country’s recent border-fighting evidence and its long-running mine-contamination burden.

The public record shows a force shaped by post-1993 reconstruction, not an uninterrupted single-line military institution. The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces were consolidated after the Paris peace process and UNTAC, and recent reporting still describes them through the dual lens of sovereignty and internal security.

Cambodia’s army is organized territorially, with troops described across all 25 provinces and a six-military-region structure. That matters for understanding the catalog because the country’s visible combat posture is tied more to border defense, local military zones, and ground fires than to heavy airpower or armor.

The country also has an unusually visible peacekeeping profile for its size. United Nations material identifies Cambodia as a regular troop-contributing country, and Cambodian peacekeepers deploy through the National Centre for Peacekeeping Forces, Mines and ERW Clearance.

The equipment set attached to Cambodia is dominated by artillery and mine-related systems. In the Thailand-Cambodia border conflict, public reporting and official statements place rocket artillery, mortars, and mine incidents at the center of the catalog, while the broader domestic industrial picture looks repair-heavy and import-dependent rather than factory-driven.

state military structureterritorial army organizationpeacekeeping contributionborder artillery and mortarsmine-action and legacy contamination
Featured Weapons
BM-21 Grad, 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, Artillery

BM-21 Grad

Represents the 122 mm rocket-artillery layer most visibly associated with Cambodian cross-border fire during the 2025 Thailand-Cambodia border fighting.

Artillery / 122 mm multiple rocket launcher
AR2 300 mm multiple rocket launcher, 300 mm wheeled multiple rocket launcher, Artillery

AR2 300 mm multiple rocket launcher

Highlights the heavier Chinese-origin rocket-artillery strand reported during the December 2025 escalation and Cambodia's reliance on imported long-range fires.

Artillery / 300 mm wheeled multiple rocket launcher
Type 69 RPG Launcher, Reusable shoulder-fired rocket-propelled grenade launcher, Infantry Weapons

Type 69 RPG Launcher

Shows the infantry-support end of the Cambodia-linked set, with public imagery and analysis tying Chinese RPG-7-pattern launchers to Cambodian troops in the border clash.

Infantry Weapons / Reusable shoulder-fired rocket-propelled grenade launcher
PMN-1/2/4, Antipersonnel blast mine family, Infantry Weapons

PMN-1/2/4

Captures the disputed PMN-2 mine evidence around the border crisis, where photographs, Thai attribution, Cambodian denials, and expert assessments have to be held together carefully.

Infantry Weapons / Antipersonnel blast mine family
Mortars, Infantry and artillery mortar class, Artillery

Mortars

Rounds out the indirect-fire profile with generic mortar reporting from ceasefire-period incidents where public sources identify the weapon class rather than a specific model.

Artillery / Infantry and artillery mortar class
Command and institutional shape

Official and semi-official sources describe Cambodia’s armed forces as a state military under constitutional monarchy, with the King as supreme commander and the commander-in-chief operating through the Ministry of National Defence.

The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces are organized into the Royal Cambodian Army, Royal Cambodian Navy, Royal Cambodian Air Force, and Royal Gendarmerie. The territorial army structure is especially distinctive, because it links border defense and internal order to provincial military organization.

Border fires and mine legacy

The connected catalog reflects Cambodia’s recent border-fighting posture. Rocket artillery, mortars, and landmines are the systems most visibly tied to the Thailand-Cambodia border conflict, and reporting from 2025 places BM-21-style fire and artillery exchanges near the center of the fighting.

That same border environment is still shaped by residual mine contamination. Mine-action reporting says contamination remains concentrated in the northwest, so the catalog has to separate legacy minefields and clearance work from allegations about new emplacement.

Peacekeeping and external identity

Cambodia’s outward-facing military identity is strongly linked to peacekeeping. United Nations material identifies it as a regular troop- and police-contributing country, and Cambodian public communications highlight the National Centre for Peacekeeping Forces, Mines and ERW Clearance as the institutional pipeline.

That gives Cambodia a second catalog thread beyond border defense: a state military that is visible not only in frontier fighting and mine disputes, but also in international peace-support deployment.

Domestic sustainment and external support

Public evidence suggests a limited, maintenance-oriented defense-industrial base rather than broad domestic weapon production. Foreign-funded repair shops for vehicles, tanks, and armored vehicles appear more clearly than factories for complete indigenous weapon systems, while official 2026 remarks at a Battambang military equipment factory described protective gear production as useful but not highly modern.

The most strategically visible external-support issue is Ream Naval Base. Lowy and CSIS analysis describe Chinese-funded modernization and persistent concern over possible Chinese military access, while AP reporting on the April 2025 expansion opening identified a larger pier, a repair dry dock, and Cambodia's position that the renovated base is open to friendly foreign navies rather than reserved for exclusive Chinese use.

That mix points to an import- and sustainment-heavy military ecosystem: Cambodia can maintain and adapt inherited or supplied equipment, but public sources do not support treating the country as a broad producer of complete modern weapon systems.

Recent equipment and institutional timeline
  1. Post-UNTAC armed-forces consolidation

    The post-1993 force structure emerged after the Paris peace process and UNTAC-era transition, with later RCAF material treating the modern force as a reconstructed national military.

  2. UN peacekeeping contributor role begins

    Elsie Initiative material places Cambodia's first UN peacekeeping deployment in 2006, leading to a profile centered on engineering, demining, military police, and women peacekeeper participation.

  3. Women-in-peace-operations assessment published

    The MOWIP assessment for the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces documented institutional barriers and participation patterns for Cambodian personnel in UN peace operations.

  4. Border fighting brings rockets and mine allegations forward

    The July 2025 Thailand-Cambodia fighting placed Cambodian BM-21 rocket fire, small arms, landmine incidents, and disputed responsibility at the center of public equipment evidence.

  5. Heavier rocket-artillery allegations enter the record

    During renewed December fighting, reporting and Thai military statements identified Cambodian use or fielding of Chinese PHL-03/AR2-class 300 mm rocket artillery alongside renewed airstrike and rocket-fire claims.

  6. Ream access debate continues after renovation

    AP reported a U.S. Navy visit to the Chinese-funded Ream Naval Base renovation in January 2026, while noting continued concern over potential Chinese military access and Cambodian statements that the port was open to friendly navies.

Cambodia Context
Internal security matters

Cambodia’s Royal Gendarmerie is a military-style internal-security force inside the national armed forces, so the side page should not read like a standard army-only profile.

Mine dispute

Border mine allegations remain politically disputed: Cambodian official statements frame recent incidents as old minefields rather than new emplacement, while outside reporting records the dispute rather than resolving it.

Sources

Public sourcing is strongest for constitutional command framing, territorial organization, peacekeeping identity, Ream Naval Base modernization, and documented border-conflict equipment links. Treat mine attribution, ceasefire compliance, mortar incidents, and claims of newly laid PMN-2 mines as disputed: Thai official claims, Cambodian denials, expert assessments, and independent confirmation do not fully resolve responsibility. Peacekeeping mission counts, leadership names, force totals, inventories, demining cooperation, and Thailand-Cambodia border diplomacy are time-sensitive and should be revalidated before update.

  • Cambodia ConstitutionPublisher: University of Minnesota Human Rights Library | Note: Supports the constitutional command language identifying the King as Supreme Commander and the commander-in-chief appointment framework. | Accessed: 2026-06-22
  • Royal Cambodian Armed Forces MOWIP assessmentPublisher: Elsie Initiative Fund / RCAF | Note: Supports the RCAF identity, post-1993 reconstruction, branch structure, territorial organization, and peacekeeping context. | Accessed: 2026-06-22
  • Cambodia - UN PeacekeepingPublisher: United Nations Peacekeeping | Note: Supports Cambodia’s peacekeeping profile and the statement that Cambodian peacekeepers deploy to six missions. | Accessed: 2026-06-22
  • 78th International Day of UN PeacekeepersPublisher: United Nations Cambodia | Note: Supports the National Centre for Peacekeeping Forces, Mines and ERW Clearance as part of Cambodia’s peacekeeping pipeline. | Accessed: 2026-06-22
  • Royal Government of Cambodia press communicationPublisher: Press OCM, Royal Government of Cambodia | Note: Supports the current public framing of operational command and references to border operations under the commander-in-chief. | Accessed: 2026-06-22
  • Cambodia - ImpactPublisher: Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor | Note: Supports Cambodia’s continuing landmine contamination context, especially in the northwest border region. | Accessed: 2026-06-22
  • Statement by Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance AuthorityPublisher: Cambodia Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority | Note: Supports Cambodia’s official framing of the July 2025 border mine incident as occurring in a documented minefield. | Accessed: 2026-06-22
  • Cambodia reaffirms compliance with Ottawa ConventionPublisher: Cambodia Ministry of National Defence | Note: Supports Cambodia’s official denial that recent border incidents involved new landmines. | Accessed: 2026-06-22
  • Reuters Connect image itemPublisher: Reuters | Note: Supports the visible presence of Cambodian BM-21 Grad rocket artillery in the 2025 border fighting context. | Accessed: 2026-06-22
  • Thailand-Cambodia border dispute coveragePublisher: The Guardian | Note: Supports the 2025 border fighting context, including artillery exchanges and evacuation-scale reporting. | Accessed: 2026-06-22
  • Partnership of conveniencePublisher: Lowy Institute | Note: Supports the assessment that Cambodia’s forces rely on older equipment and limited public defense-industrial depth. | Accessed: 2026-06-22
  • Hun Sen remarks at Battambang military equipment factoryPublisher: Cambodia Press and Quick Reaction Unit, Office of the Council of Ministers | Note: Official-source support for limited domestic protective-equipment production and the caveat that the capability should not be treated as broad modern weapons production. | Accessed: 2026-07-02
  • Ream Naval Base expansion openingPublisher: Associated Press | Note: Supports the April 2025 Chinese-supported Ream expansion, including a larger pier, repair dry dock, other facilities, and Cambodia's stated non-exclusive access position. | Accessed: 2026-07-02
  • The Kingdom of Cambodia Armed ForcesPublisher: Elsie Initiative Fund | Note: Supports Cambodia's first UN peacekeeping deployment in 2006 and the engineering, demining, military police, and women-in-peacekeeping emphasis. | Accessed: 2026-07-02
  • Troop and police contributorsPublisher: United Nations Peacekeeping | Note: Supports the current UN troop- and police-contributor data context used with the Cambodia peacekeeping profile. | Accessed: 2026-07-02
  • China Continues to Transform Ream Naval BasePublisher: CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative | Note: Supports the Ream Naval Base modernization context and international concern over possible Chinese military access. | Accessed: 2026-07-02
  • U.S. warship visit to Ream Naval BasePublisher: Associated Press | Note: Supports the January 2026 U.S. Navy visit, Cambodian statements that Ream is open to friendly navies, and continuing concern over Chinese access. | Accessed: 2026-07-02
  • Thailand says Cambodian rocket fire has caused its first civilian death in new border fightingPublisher: Associated Press | Note: Supports the side-profile featured-weapons context for Cambodian BM-21 rocket artillery in the 2025 border fighting. | Accessed: 2026-07-02
  • Cambodia uses Chinese Type-90B and PHL-03 rocket launchers in strikes on ThailandPublisher: Army Recognition | Note: Supports the side-profile context for reported Cambodian PHL-03/AR2-class 300 mm rocket artillery during the December 2025 escalation. | Accessed: 2026-07-02
  • Small Arms of the 2025 Thai-Cambodia Border ClashPublisher: The Armourer's Bench | Note: Supports the side-profile context for Cambodian Type 69 RPG launchers in public imagery from the July 2025 border clash. | Accessed: 2026-07-02
  • Reuters: Thai-Cambodia Landmines Likely Newly LaidPublisher: Reuters | Note: Supports the side-profile caveat on PMN-2 mine evidence, expert assessments, Thai attribution, and Cambodia's denial of new emplacement. | Accessed: 2026-07-02
  • Thai Army Says Cambodia Claims New Border Strike Was Accident Amid TrucePublisher: Al Jazeera | Note: Supports the side-profile context for mortar-class reporting during the ceasefire-period border incidents. | Accessed: 2026-07-02
  • Thailand-Cambodia border land mine accusationsPublisher: Associated Press | Note: Supports the caveat that mine attribution, new-emplacement claims, and treaty-compliance allegations remained disputed between Thai and Cambodian official positions. | Accessed: 2026-07-02
Artillery

Category

Tube artillery, rocket artillery, and long-range ground fires.

3/3
BM-21 Grad, 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, Artillery2012 Mali War, 2014 Second Libyan Civil War +11 moreBM-21 Grad122 mm multiple rocket launcherBuilt: Motovilikha Plants / Soviet defense industry / Soviet Union / RussiaThe BM-21 Grad is a Soviet 122 mm multiple rocket launcher built around a 40-tube launcher on a wheeled truck chassis. In the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War it remains a common area-fire system on both sides, valued for rapid salvos and mobility but dependent on shoot-and-scoot tactics because the launcher is carried on an unarmored truck.
AR2 300 mm multiple rocket launcher, 300 mm wheeled multiple rocket launcher, Artillery2025 Thailand-Cambodia Border Conflict, 2020 Tigray WarAR2 300 mm multiple rocket launcher300 mm wheeled multiple rocket launcherBuilt: Norinco / ChinaThe AR2 is Norinco's export designation for China's PHL-03 300 mm wheeled multiple rocket launcher, a long-range 12-tube system derived from the BM-30 Smerch pattern. Its public conflict record is clearest in Ethiopia, where Tigrayan forces captured Ethiopian AR2 launchers in November 2020 and Oryx reported their subsequent use against Ethiopian forces.
Mortars, Infantry and artillery mortar class, Artillery2017 Battle of Marawi, 2016 Colombian FARC Dissident Conflict +5 moreMortarsInfantry and artillery mortar classBuilt: Various manufacturers / Multiple countriesMortars are short-barreled, high-angle indirect-fire weapons used by infantry, artillery units, and armed groups for close support, harassment, and attacks on positions behind cover. The catalog entry treats mortars as a broad weapon class because the direct conflict sources usually document mortar use without identifying exact calibers or models, including Philippine government support fires at Marawi, Hezbollah fire at Mount Dov, jihadist attacks in Mali and Sinai, FARC dissident improvised mortars in Colombia, 2023 Sudan War battlefield use, and Cambodia-accused cross-border fire.
Infantry Weapons

Category

Portable weapons used by soldiers and small units.

3/3
PMN-1/2/4, Antipersonnel blast mine family, Infantry Weapons2014 Russia-Ukraine War, 2014 Second Libyan Civil War +2 morePMN-1/2/4Antipersonnel blast mine familyBuilt: Soviet and Russian state arsenals / Soviet Union / RussiaThe PMN-1/2/4 family covers Soviet and Russian pressure-activated antipersonnel blast mines used to deny foot movement and injure personnel at close range. PMN-1 and PMN-2 are Soviet designs, while PMN-4 is a later Russian circular plastic-cased mine; conflict-use records now connect PMN-family mines to Ukraine, Libya, Nagorno-Karabakh-related minefields, and disputed PMN-2 incidents along the Thailand-Cambodia border.
Landmine, Explosive ground mine, Infantry Weapons2014 Russia-Ukraine War, 2023 Israel-Hamas War +6 moreLandmineExplosive ground mineBuilt: Various manufacturers / MultipleLandmines are ground-emplaced explosive munitions triggered by a person's or vehicle's presence, proximity, or contact, with battlefield roles ranging from route denial and obstacle protection to remote minefield laying. This class page covers conventional anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines, scatterable mines, directional fragmentation mines, and improvised victim-activated mines where sources directly document conflict use.
Type 69 RPG Launcher, Reusable shoulder-fired rocket-propelled grenade launcher, Infantry Weapons2001 War in Afghanistan, 2009 Boko Haram Insurgency +2 moreType 69 RPG LauncherReusable shoulder-fired rocket-propelled grenade launcherBuilt: Norinco / ChinaThe Type 69 RPG is a Chinese NORINCO-built derivative of the Soviet RPG-7, using a reusable 40 mm launch tube for over-caliber anti-armor and support rockets. The record now tracks direct Type 69 documentation across captured Taliban stocks in Afghanistan, Boko Haram materiel losses in Niger, Ukrainian training imagery, and Cambodian firing videos from the 2025 Thailand-Cambodia border clash.