Tag archive

improvised Weapon Systems

Weapon systems and military equipment tagged improvised.

6 weapon systems

Drone-dropped fragmentation grenade, Improvised drone-delivered grenade, Aircraft & UAVs

Aircraft & UAVsDrone-dropped fragmentation grenadeImprovised drone-delivered grenadeSide: Hamas / IsraelBuilt: Commercial drone makers and field modifications / VariousDrone-dropped fragmentation grenade is a field-adapted tactic that uses commercial quadcopters or similar small UAVs to release grenades onto exposed targets. In the Israel-Hamas War, open-source reporting documents Hamas using the method during the October 7, 2023 attack and Israeli forces using commercial drones to drop grenades in Gaza in 2025, making it a low-cost, short-range improvised strike method rather than a standardized grenade model.

BTR-60 with AML-90 turret, Improvised 8x8 armored fighting vehicle / fire-support conversion, Armored Vehicles

Armored VehiclesBTR-60 with AML-90 turretImprovised 8x8 armored fighting vehicle / fire-support conversionSide: Yemeni government and coalition forces / Houthi-aligned forcesBuilt: Yemeni Army workshop conversion; original BTR-60PB by Gorky Automobile Plant, AML-90 turret by Panhard / Yemen / Soviet Union / FranceThe BTR-60 with AML-90 turret is a Yemeni field conversion that combines a Soviet BTR-60PB armored personnel carrier hull with the 90 mm gun turret from a French Panhard AML-90 armored car. The hybrid traded the base APC's machine-gun turret for a much heavier direct-fire weapon, reflecting Yemen's improvised use of aging armored stocks during the civil war.

Technical, Improvised armed pickup truck, Armored Vehicles

Armored VehiclesTechnicalImprovised armed pickup truckSide: Houthi-aligned forces / HamasBuilt: Various pickup manufacturers and field workshops / GlobalA technical is an improvised armed pickup truck built from a civilian 4x4 and fitted with a mounted weapon. Houthi-aligned forces used armed technicals in the Yemen Civil War, while Hamas used pickup trucks during the Oct. 7 assault and later Israeli reporting described pickup trucks used by Hamas in Gaza.

Locally manufactured fourteen-tube rocket launcher, Improvised multi-tube rocket launcher, Artillery

ArtilleryLocally manufactured fourteen-tube rocket launcherImprovised multi-tube rocket launcherSide: HamasBuilt: Locally manufactured by Hamas / Gaza StripThe locally manufactured fourteen-tube rocket launcher is an improvised Hamas launch assembly for salvo firing short-range rockets from concealed positions in Gaza. In the Israel-Hamas War, IDF-released April 2024 imagery documented Hamas launch positions in the Khan Younis humanitarian zone, illustrating the continued use of locally built launch infrastructure rather than standardized state-manufactured rocket artillery vehicles.

Locally manufactured mortar projectile, Mortar projectile, Artillery

ArtilleryLocally manufactured mortar projectileMortar projectileSide: HamasBuilt: Hamas workshop production in Gaza / Gaza Strip, Palestinian territoriesLocally manufactured mortar projectiles are improvised Gaza-made shells intended for mortar launchers. During the Israel-Hamas War, Israeli and AP reporting described central Gaza production sites making mortar shells for Hamas, keeping short-range indirect fire in the conflict's arsenal.

Chlorine gas cylinders, Improvised chlorine chemical munition, Infantry Weapons

Infantry WeaponsChlorine gas cylindersImprovised chlorine chemical munitionSide: Syrian governmentBuilt: Unknown industrial cylinder manufacturers; OPCW attributed the Douma cylinders' modification and filling to Syrian military-linked activity / Unknown / SyriaChlorine gas cylinders are industrial pressure vessels that become chemical weapons when filled, modified, or delivered to release toxic chlorine intentionally. In the 2018 Syria Missile Strikes archive, the relevant use is the Douma attack: OPCW investigators found that Syrian Arab Air Force helicopters dropped two yellow chlorine-filled cylinders on residential buildings, providing the chemical-weapons trigger cited by the United States, United Kingdom, and France for the 14 April 2018 missile strikes.