Profile
- Type
- Artillery rocket system
- Conflict side
- Houthi-aligned forces
- Origin
- Soviet Union
- Service note
- Cold War era; still seen in limited service and Houthi use in Yemen
Artillery
9K52 Luna-M artillery rocket system
The 9K52 Luna-M, known to NATO as FROG-7, is a Soviet wheeled short-range artillery rocket system whose unguided 9M21 rockets remained in Houthi hands during the Yemen Civil War, where they were used for close-range and cross-border strikes.
- Conflict side
- Houthi-aligned forces
- Built in
- Soviet Union
Service History
- In service
- Entered Soviet service in 1964 and remained in limited service with some operators.
- Used by
- Houthi-aligned forces, Soviet Union, Yemeni forces
- Wars
- Yemen Civil War
Production History
- Designer
- NII-1 MITT and OKB-329 GKAT
- Designed
- 1960-1964
- Built in
- Soviet Union
- Unit cost
- Not publicly standardized
- Produced
- 1964-1970s
- Number built
- 500-750 launch vehicles
- Variants
- 9P113 launcher, 9M21 family rockets, FROG-7A, FROG-7B
Specifications
- Crew
- 7
- Weight
- 17.6 t combat load
- Length
- 10.69 m
- Range
- 12 to 68 km
- Speed
- 65 km/h on road
- Guidance
- Unguided, spin-stabilized ballistic flight
- Launcher
- BAZ-135 8x8 truck chassis with a single launch rail
Conflict Usage
- Yemen Civil War
- Side: Houthi-aligned forcesRole: Close-range strike rocket artillery
In the Yemen Civil War, Houthi-aligned forces used FROG-7 artillery rockets for close-range strikes in Yemen and against Saudi Arabia's Jizan and Najran border provinces.
9K52 Luna-M artillery rocket system Images
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9K52 Luna-MPublisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports 9K52 Luna-M background, development, producer, launcher design, mobility, and general specifications. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Tactical Ballistic Missile System FROG-7B (9K52, 9M52, R-70), Luna-MPublisher: Gurevich Publications | Note: Supports 9K52 Luna-M range, warhead, launch vehicle, and historical deployment context. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Yemen's “Southern Hezbollah”: Implications of Houthi Missile and Drone ImprovementsPublisher: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy | Note: Supports Yemen Civil War direct conflict-use; FROG-7 artillery rockets were used by Houthi forces for close-range strikes in Yemen and the Jizan and Najran border provinces of Saudi Arabia. | Accessed: 2026-06-209P113 Luna-M.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain photograph of a 9P113 transporter-erector-launcher with a 9M21 rocket. | Accessed: 2026-06-20FROG-7.JPEGPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain U.S. Marine Corps photo of an Iraqi FROG-7 TEL. | Accessed: 2026-06-20FROG-7 Rocket.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain U.S. Army photo of an Iraqi FROG-7 rocket being loaded. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Frog-7 draw.pngPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain U.S. military drawing of the FROG-7 launcher. | Accessed: 2026-06-20