Profile
- Type
- Wheeled multiple launch rocket system
- Conflict side
- Yemeni government and coalition forces
- Origin
- Brazil
- Service note
- 1980s design with continued export and upgrade service
Artillery
ASTROS II
The ASTROS II is a Brazilian Avibras wheeled multiple launch rocket system built around modular rocket pods for 127 mm, 180 mm, and 300 mm rockets. In the Yemen Civil War, rights-group investigations documented ASTROS cluster munition rockets used by the Saudi-led coalition, making the system relevant to the conflict's long-range artillery and cluster-munition evidence record.
- Conflict side
- Yemeni government and coalition forces
- Built by
- Avibras Industria Aeroespacial
- Built in
- Brazil
Service History
- In service
- Entered service in the 1980s and remains in service with several operators
- Used by
- Saudi-led coalition forces, Royal Saudi Land Forces, Brazilian Army, Indonesian Army, Iraqi Army
- Wars
- Yemen Civil War, Gulf War, Iran-Iraq War
Production History
- Designer
- Avibras Industria Aeroespacial
- Designed
- Early 1980s
- Built by
- Avibras Industria Aeroespacial
- Built in
- Brazil
- Produced
- Early 1980s-late 1990s, with later ASTROS-family production and upgrades
- Number built
- At least 168 ASTROS II systems reported by Weaponsystems.net
- Variants
- AV-LMU launcher, AV-RMD transloader, AV-UCF fire-control radar vehicle, AV-VCC command vehicle, ASTROS 2020 / Mk6
Specifications
- Crew
- 3
- Launcher load
- Four reload boxes; typical loads include 32 SS-30 127 mm rockets, 16 SS-40 180 mm rockets, or four SS-60/SS-80 300 mm rockets
- Rocket calibers
- 127 mm, 180 mm, and 300 mm artillery rockets in the classic ASTROS II family
- Maximum rocket range
- Up to 90 km with 300 mm SS-80 rockets; Amnesty described cluster-capable rocket variants with ranges up to 80 km
- Secondary armament
- 12.7 mm M2HB heavy machine gun on a roof mount
- Mobility
- 6x6 wheeled TECTRAN/VBT-2028 family chassis with Mercedes 280 hp diesel engine; about 90 km/h road speed and 480 km range
- Protection
- Armored cab against small-arms fire and shell splinters, with smoke grenade launchers
Conflict Usage
- Yemen Civil War
- Side: Yemeni government and coalition forcesRole: Area rocket fires with cluster-warhead rockets
Human Rights Watch documented ASTROS cluster munition rockets used by the Saudi-led coalition in the Yemen Civil War, including remnants from a February 2017 attack in Saada governorate; Saudi Arabia and Bahrain had previously purchased Brazilian ASTROS rockets.
ASTROS II Images
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ASTROS IIPublisher: Weaponsystems.net | Note: Supports ASTROS II background, Avibras origin and production, system composition, launcher load, mobility, crew, and protection specifications. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Astros II Brazilian Multiple Rocket LauncherPublisher: U.S. Army OE Data Integration Network | Note: Supports U.S. Army reference background for the ASTROS II as a modular Brazilian multiple rocket launcher. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Yemen: Brazilian Cluster Munitions Suspected in Saudi Arabia-Led Coalition AttackPublisher: Amnesty International | Note: Supports Yemen Civil War direct-use context: Amnesty reported suspected Brazilian ASTROS II cluster munitions used by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition and described ASTROS II rockets, Avibras manufacture, submunitions, and range. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Yemen: Cluster Munitions Wound ChildrenPublisher: Human Rights Watch | Note: Supports Yemen Civil War direct-use context: Human Rights Watch documented ASTROS cluster munition rockets used by the Saudi-led coalition, including remnants from a February 2017 attack in Saada governorate. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Brazilian SS-60 Cargo Rockets Employed in YemenPublisher: Armament Research Services | Note: Supports Yemen Civil War direct-use context: ARES assessed Brazilian ASTROS-series SS-60 or SS-80 cargo rockets used in Yemen and links Saudi ASTROS holdings to the weapon family. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Avibras ASTROS-II SS-30Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and public-domain U.S. DoD status for the primary image of a Saudi ASTROS II launching an SS-30 rocket. | Accessed: 2026-06-20ASTROS-2Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and public-domain U.S. DoD status for Saudi ASTROS II launchers displayed in firing position. | Accessed: 2026-06-20ASTROS 2 InsidePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and public-domain U.S. DoD status for Saudi soldiers at an ASTROS II control panel. | Accessed: 2026-06-20