Direct proof of use
ASTROS II use in the 1990 Gulf War is directly documented through Saudi fire at Khafji in January 1991. The Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor reports that Saudi Arabia attacked Iraqi forces during the battle with cluster munitions fired from Brazilian-acquired ASTROS multi-barrel rocket launchers, and Human Rights Watch later summarized the same Khafji use as Saudi ASTROS cluster-munition rocket employment during the First Gulf War.
Armament Research Services identifies the same Saudi role at munition level, writing that Saudi forces used ASTROS II systems to engage Iraqi targets with M7 submunitions during the first Gulf War. The incident evidence supports Saudi use against Iraqi forces on Saudi territory during the Iraqi incursion at Khafji.
Forecast International separately describes ASTROS II as having a combat record with Saudi Arabian forces during Operation Desert Storm and lists Saudi Arabia and Iraq among ASTROS II operators.
Sources: The Monitor Saudi Arabia Cluster Munition Ban Policy, Yemen: Cluster Munitions Wound Children, ARES Brazilian SS-60 Cargo Rockets, ASTROS Multiple Launch Rocket Systems
Timeline
The Gulf War began after Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990. The U.S.-led coalition air and ground war began in January 1991 and ended with Iraqi defeat and withdrawal from Kuwait on February 28, 1991.
During the battle of Khafji in January 1991, Saudi forces fired ASTROS cluster-munition rockets against Iraqi forces that had crossed into Saudi Arabia. The Monitor states that the weapons reportedly left a significant number of unexploded submunitions, a detail later repeated by Human Rights Watch in its discussion of Saudi ASTROS cluster-rocket history.
Sources: The Gulf War, 1991, The Monitor Saudi Arabia Cluster Munition Ban Policy, Yemen: Cluster Munitions Wound Children, ARES Brazilian SS-60 Cargo Rockets
Narrative
The documented Gulf War role was ground-launched rocket artillery in coalition service, used by Saudi forces during fighting around Khafji. The public evidence names the target as Iraqi forces and the munition type as cluster munitions fired from ASTROS multi-barrel rocket launchers; it does not identify the exact Saudi firing unit or launch position.
The broader operator context is two-sided but not equally detailed in public incident reporting. Forecast International lists Saudi Arabia with 60 ASTROS II systems and Iraq with 60, and states that Operation Desert Storm curtailed Iraqi deliveries after those systems. For the conflict-use page, the Saudi Khafji firing is the direct incident-level use; Iraqi ASTROS II holdings are relevant conflict context, but the sources used here do not provide a matching dated Iraqi firing incident.
Sources: The Monitor Saudi Arabia Cluster Munition Ban Policy, ASTROS Multiple Launch Rocket Systems
