Profile
- Type
- 82 mm automatic gun-mortar
- Origin
- Soviet Union
- Service note
- Cold War design; still fielded in post-Soviet inventories
Artillery
82 mm 2B9 Vasilek automatic mortar
The 82 mm 2B9 Vasilek is a Soviet automatic gun-mortar that combines mortar trajectories with clip-fed rapid fire from a wheeled carriage. In the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, open-source loss documentation places captured Vasilek mortars on the Armenia / Artsakh side, making it part of the short-range indirect-fire layer around the 2020 fighting.
- Built in
- Soviet Union; Hungary; China
Service History
- In service
- Introduced around 1970 and retained in several post-Soviet and export inventories
- Used by
- Armenian forces, Artsakh Defense Army
- Wars
- Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
Production History
- Designer
- Soviet defense industry
- Designed
- Late 1960s
- Built in
- Soviet Union; Hungary; China
- Produced
- 1970s onward
- Variants
- 2B9 Vasilek, 2B9M Vasilek, Type W99
Specifications
- Caliber
- 82 mm
- Combat weight
- About 632 kg
- Feed
- Single mortar bombs or four-round clips
- Rate of fire
- Approximately 100-120 rounds per minute practical sustained fire
- Maximum range
- About 4,270 m
- Elevation
- -1 to +85 degrees
- Transport
- Towed on a wheeled carriage or carried by vehicles such as GAZ-66 trucks
Conflict Usage
- Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
- Side: ArmeniaArtsakhRole: Short-range mortar fire support
Oryx documented two 82 mm 2B9 Vasilek mortars among Armenian equipment captured during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh fighting, supporting fielding by the Armenia / Artsakh side but not a specific firing incident.
82 mm 2B9 Vasilek automatic mortar Images
Related Weapon Systems
120 mm M75 mortar120 mm towed smoothbore mortarThe 120 mm M75 mortar is a Yugoslav-designed towed smoothbore mortar for infantry fire support, smoke, illumination, and high-angle indirect fire in broken terrain. In the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, open-source loss documentation places M75 mortars with Armenian/Artsakh forces during the 2020 war, where several were destroyed or captured.
122 mm M-30 howitzer122 mm towed field howitzerThe 122 mm M-30 howitzer is a Soviet split-trail towed field howitzer designed before World War II and produced in large numbers by Soviet plants. Its appearance in the Nagorno-Karabakh archive reflects the continued battlefield use of older Soviet artillery stocks by Armenian/Artsakh forces alongside newer 122 mm systems.
60 mm mortarLight infantry mortarThe 60 mm mortar is a portable light infantry indirect-fire weapon class used for close support with high-angle fire. Yemen Civil War sourcing identifies 20 60 mm mortar tubes in a February 2016 HMAS Darwin maritime seizure that U.S. analysis later assessed as part of Iran-origin arms caches intended for Houthi forces, so this entry records attempted supply rather than a confirmed model or observed firing in Yemen.
A-19 122 mm field gun122 mm towed corps gunThe A-19 is a Soviet 122 mm towed field gun developed for corps-level artillery fire, combining a long barrel, separate-loading ammunition, and an approximately 20 km range. In the Yemen Civil War archive it is included conservatively as legacy Yemeni Army artillery documented in pre-war holdings available to battlefield parties, not as a source-confirmed record of a specific firing event..jpg?width=480)
152 mm D-1 gun-howitzerTowed 152 mm howitzerThe 152 mm D-1 gun-howitzer is a Soviet towed heavy howitzer built around a 152.4 mm barrel on a lighter split-trail carriage. In the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict archive it is represented by a narrow, direct 2020 source identifying a D-1 among Armenian equipment struck by Azerbaijani forces, showing the continued battlefield presence of older Soviet tube artillery.
60 mm M57 mortar60 mm light infantry mortarThe 60 mm M57 is a Yugoslav-pattern light infantry mortar now listed by Serbian manufacturer PPT Namenska. In the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, open-source loss documentation recorded M57 mortars captured from Armenian forces, tying the portable short-range fire-support weapon to the 2020 fighting.Sources
2B9 Vasilek Russian 82mm Towed Gun-MortarPublisher: U.S. Army ODIN | Note: Supports weapon background, Soviet development context, and basic specifications for the 82 mm 2B9 Vasilek. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Soviet 2B9M Vasilek self-loading mortarPublisher: Armament Research Services | Note: Supports detailed background, feed system, firing modes, range, transport arrangements, and licensed Hungarian production context. | Accessed: 2026-06-2082mm 2B9 VasilekPublisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports producer list, service-entry context, and general specifications for the 2B9 Vasilek family. | Accessed: 2026-06-20The Fight For Nagorno-Karabakh: Documenting Losses On The Sides Of Armenia And AzerbaijanPublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict direct use: 82 mm 2B9 Vasilek mortars used by Armenia / Artsakh are listed among Armenian equipment captured during the 2020 war. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons 2B9 Vasilek mortar-4058Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a CC BY-SA 3.0 photograph of a 2B9 Vasilek mortar at the Togliatti Technical Museum. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons 2B9 Vasilek mortar-4060Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a CC BY-SA 3.0 alternate view of a 2B9 Vasilek mortar at the Togliatti Technical Museum. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons 2B9 Vasilek mortar-4061Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a CC BY-SA 3.0 close alternate view of a 2B9 Vasilek mortar at the Togliatti Technical Museum. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons Kyiv Museum artillery line-upPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a CC BY-SA 2.0 museum photograph showing a 2B9 Vasilek alongside other Soviet artillery systems. | Accessed: 2026-06-20