Profile
- Type
- 160 mm artillery rocket / cluster-munition rocket
- Conflict side
- Azerbaijan
- Origin
- Israel
- Service note
- Late Cold War design; documented in Azerbaijani service during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war
Munitions
LAR-160
The 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.
- Conflict side
- Azerbaijan
- Built by
- Israel Military Industries
- Built in
- Israel
Service History
- In service
- Adopted by Israel in the 1980s; exported to multiple operators including Azerbaijan
- Used by
- Azerbaijani Armed Forces
- Wars
- Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
Production History
- Designer
- Israel Military Industries
- Designed
- Late 1970s
- Built by
- Israel Military Industries
- Built in
- Israel
- Unit cost
- Not publicly available
- Produced
- 1980s onward
- Number built
- Not publicly available
- Variants
- Mk I high-explosive rocket, Mk II cluster-munition rocket, Mk IV extended-range rocket, ACCULAR 160 guided derivative
Specifications
- Caliber
- 160 mm
- Maximum range
- Up to 45 km
- Rocket length
- About 3.4 m
- Rocket weight
- About 100-110 kg, depending on variant
- Cluster payload
- M095 or CL-3022-type dual-purpose submunitions, depending on source and variant
- Launcher configuration
- Common launcher pods carry 13 rockets each; standard launchers can carry two pods
Conflict Usage
- Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
- Side: AzerbaijanRole: Area rocket artillery with cluster-munition payloads
Human Rights Watch documented Azerbaijani use of LAR-160 rockets carrying M095 submunitions in attacks on Stepanakert and Hadrut during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
LAR-160 Images
Related Weapon Systems
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.
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.
9N235 cluster submunitionHigh-explosive fragmentation cluster submunitionThe 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.
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.
BL-755 cluster bombAir-dropped anti-armor cluster bombThe BL-755 is a British air-dropped anti-armor cluster bomb built around a dispenser carrying 147 bomblets. In the Yemen Civil War, it is documented as a legacy UK-made munition used by Saudi-led coalition forces before Saudi Arabia said the coalition would cease using the type.
BLU-63A/B submunitionAir-dropped high-explosive fragmentation submunitionThe BLU-63A/B is a U.S.-origin impact-fired high-explosive fragmentation bomblet carried in CBU-58A/B cluster bombs. Open-source documentation links BLU-63A/B and related BLU-63 remnants to Saudi-led coalition air attacks during the Yemen Civil War, where the submunitions functioned as unguided area-effect strike munitions dispersed from air-delivered cluster bomb dispensers.Sources
Technical Briefing Note: Cluster Munition Use in the Karabakh ConflictPublisher: Human Rights Watch | Note: Supports Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict direct use: LAR-160 cluster-munition rockets were used by Azerbaijani armed forces during the 2020 conflict and dispersed M095 submunitions. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Azerbaijan: Cluster Munitions Used in Nagorno-KarabakhPublisher: Human Rights Watch | Note: Supports Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict direct use: LAR-160 cluster-munition rockets were used by Azerbaijani forces in Stepanakert during the 2020 fighting. | Accessed: 2026-06-20LAR - Light Artillery Rocket SystemPublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports general LAR-160 background, IMI manufacturer attribution, launch pod configuration, caliber, and range specifications. | Accessed: 2026-06-20PULS Multiple Rocket LauncherPublisher: Elbit Systems | Note: Supports current Elbit rocket-launcher family context and the 160 mm Accular rocket derivative in modern modular launchers. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Azeri LAR-160, parade in Baku, 2013Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for an Azerbaijani LAR-160 launcher photograph released under CC0. | Accessed: 2026-06-20LAR-160 on Lynx VehiclePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a LAR-160 launcher photograph licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Lynx LAR-160Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a Lynx vehicle with LAR-160 launcher, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Detached LAR-160 LauncherPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a detached LAR-160 launcher photograph licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. | Accessed: 2026-06-20