Profile
- Type
- High-explosive fragmentation cluster submunition
- Origin
- Soviet Union / Russia
- Service note
- Late Cold War to present rocket-artillery service
Munitions
9N235 cluster submunition
The 9N235 is a Soviet/Russian high-explosive fragmentation submunition carried by Smerch and Uragan cargo rockets. In the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Human Rights Watch linked 9N235-filled 9M55K Smerch cluster rockets to Armenian and/or Nagorno-Karabakh use against Azerbaijani locations, making it a documented area-effect munition in the conflict archive.
- Built in
- Soviet UnionRussia
Service History
- In service
- Carried by 9M55K Smerch and 9M27K1 Uragan cargo rockets
- Used by
- Armenian forces, Nagorno-Karabakh forces, Russian forces
- Wars
- Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, Russia-Ukraine War, Syrian Civil War
Production History
- Designer
- Soviet defense industry
- Designed
- Late Soviet period
- Built in
- Soviet UnionRussia
- Produced
- Soviet and Russian production
- Variants
- 9N235 high-explosive fragmentation submunition, Externally similar 9N210 fragmentation submunition
Specifications
- Munition class
- Fin-stabilized high-explosive fragmentation submunition
- Length
- 263 mm
- Diameter
- 65 mm
- Weight
- About 1.75 kg
- Explosive filler
- About 312 g A-IX-10 explosive composition
- Fragments
- About 96 fragments of 4.5 g and 360 fragments of 0.75 g
- Fuze
- 9E272 impact fuze with self-destruct mechanism
- Carrier rockets
- 72 carried by a 300 mm 9M55K Smerch rocket; also documented with 220 mm 9M27K1 Uragan rockets
Conflict Usage
- Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
- Side: ArmeniaArtsakhRole: Area-effect rocket submunition attacks
Human Rights Watch identified 9N235 fragmentation submunitions in 9M55K Smerch cluster rockets and found evidence that Armenian and/or Nagorno-Karabakh forces used those rockets in attacks on Azerbaijani locations during the 2020 war.
9N235 cluster submunition Images
Related Weapon Systems
LAR-160160 mm artillery rocket / cluster-munition rocketThe LAR-160 is an Israeli 160 mm artillery rocket family originally developed by Israel Military Industries for mobile multiple-rocket launchers. In Nagorno-Karabakh, Human Rights Watch identified Azerbaijani use of LAR-160 cluster-munition rockets that dispersed M095 dual-purpose submunitions across populated areas.
M095 DPICM cluster submunitionDual-purpose improved conventional munition submunitionThe M095 is an Israeli-made dual-purpose improved conventional munition carried by LAR-160 cluster rockets. In the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, investigators identified M095 remnants, impact patterns, pink stabilization ribbons, and unexploded submunitions after Azerbaijani rocket attacks on populated areas including Stepanakert and Hadrut.
BM-27 Uragan220 mm self-propelled multiple launch rocket systemThe BM-27 Uragan is a Soviet 220 mm wheeled multiple launch rocket system built around a 16-tube launcher on the ZIL-135LM chassis. Its heavier rockets give it greater payload and range than BM-21 Grad-class systems, with warhead options including high-explosive fragmentation, cluster, and mine-scattering rounds. In the Russia-Ukraine War it remains a legacy heavy rocket artillery system used for area fires, minelaying, and counter-battery targets by forces that inherited or captured Uragan-family stocks.
BM-30 Smerch300 mm heavy multiple launch rocket systemThe BM-30 Smerch, also designated 9K58, is a Soviet-designed heavy multiple launch rocket system built around a 12-tube 300 mm launcher on an 8x8 wheeled chassis. Its long-range rockets can carry high-explosive, cluster, and thermobaric warheads, making it a deep-fire artillery system rather than a front-line direct-fire weapon. In the Russia-Ukraine War, documented Russian use of 9M55K Smerch cluster rockets has tied the system to attacks on Ukrainian urban areas including Kharkiv and Mykolaiv.
SS-60 Mk4 Cluster Rocket300 mm unguided cluster artillery rocketThe SS-60 Mk4 is a Brazilian 300 mm ASTROS-family unguided artillery rocket made by Avibras for long-range area fires. In the Yemen Civil War, open-source investigations identified SS-60 Mk4-marked rocket remnants and Brazilian ASTROS cluster munition rockets after Saudi-led coalition strikes in Saada governorate.
122 mm Katyusha rocketUnguided 122 mm artillery rocketThe 122 mm Katyusha rocket is the common Grad-style unguided artillery rocket family associated with BM-21 and improvised launchers. In Yemen, open-source investigations document pro-Houthi use of 122 mm unguided rockets in Aden, where their area-effect, low-accuracy fire made them especially dangerous in populated neighborhoods.Sources
Technical Briefing Note: Cluster Munition Use in the Karabakh ConflictPublisher: Human Rights Watch | Note: Supports Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict direct use: 9N235 submunitions were used by Armenian and/or Nagorno-Karabakh forces in 9M55K Smerch cluster rockets during the 2020 conflict; also identifies Splav as the state-owned manufacturer for the Smerch rocket. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Russian 9N235 submunitions documented in Ukraine (2022)Publisher: Armament Research Services | Note: Supports technical background, carrier-rocket context, dimensions, filler, fragments, and fuze details for the 9N235. | Accessed: 2026-06-209N235 SubmunitionPublisher: CAT-UXO | Note: Supports ordnance identification background and the distinction between 9N235 and externally similar 9N210 submunitions. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons 9N235 cassette imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for the primary 9N235 gallery image; file page lists own work by Andrey Khokhlushin under CC BY-SA 4.0. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons Mykolaiv cluster bomblet imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a 9N210/9N235-category cluster bomblet image from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine under CC BY 4.0. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons Kharkiv demining imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a 9N210/9N235-category cluster munition image from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine under CC BY 4.0. | Accessed: 2026-06-20