Direct proof of use
The U.S. Department of Defense announced 4,000 Zuni aircraft rockets for Ukraine on January 6, 2023, as part of a larger security-assistance package after Russia's full-scale invasion. In the same day's Pentagon briefing, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper said the rockets could be mounted on Ukraine's existing aircraft to engage air or ground targets.
Open-source evidence connected the delivered rockets to Ukrainian attack aviation by May 2023. TWZ reported that photos showed live 5-inch Zuni rockets near a Ukrainian Air Force Su-25 Frogfoot and that the unguided rockets appeared to be in use with Ukrainian Su-25 attack aircraft. In October 2024, UNITED24 Media reported Ukrainian Su-25 jets carrying out an airstrike on Russian positions with American Zuni rockets mounted in LAU-10 launchers.
Sources: DoD January 2023 Ukraine Assistance Release, Pentagon January 2023 Ukraine Assistance Briefing, TWZ Zuni Rockets on Ukrainian Su-25s, UNITED24 Su-25 Zuni Strike
Narrative
In this conflict record, 5-inch rockets refers to the Zuni 5-inch folding-fin aircraft rocket rather than the earlier HVAR branch of the wider U.S. 5-inch rocket family. Ukraine received Zunis from U.S. stocks for air-launched use, and the documented platform in public reporting is the Su-25 attack aircraft.
The role was aerial fire support from Ukrainian aircraft. TWZ described the Ukrainian Su-25 force as already using Soviet-era rockets against Russian positions and noted that the Zuni delivery appeared alongside those aircraft as Soviet rocket stocks were under pressure. UNITED24 later reported a Su-25 strike against a building used by Russian forces and said the aircraft carried LAU-10 launchers, each holding four Zuni rockets.
The available public sources support transfer, aircraft integration, and reported battlefield firing by Ukrainian forces. They do not establish a complete expenditure record or a comprehensive list of units and locations, so the sourced claim is limited to Ukrainian fielding and Su-25 use rather than all Ukrainian 5-inch rocket activity during the war.
Sources: DoD January 2023 Ukraine Assistance Release, DoD August 2023 Ukraine Assistance Fact Sheet, TWZ Zuni Rockets on Ukrainian Su-25s, UNITED24 Su-25 Zuni Strike
