Direct proof of use
The M136 AT4 is directly documented in the 2001 War in Afghanistan through U.S. combat imagery and arms-transfer research. A DVIDS caption for Operation Branding Iron II identifies a U.S. Marine with Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, preparing to fire an M136 AT4 portable anti-armor rocket at enemy fighters in the Ghaysarkah region of Helmand province on June 21, 2012.
Small Arms Survey's 2024 briefing paper on arms transfers to Afghanistan lists M136 AT4 84 mm portable anti-tank rocket systems among light weapons exported to Afghanistan from 2002 to 2021, with the United States identified as the supplier or exporter. The same paper explains that its data set covers firearms, light weapons, and ammunition exported or supplied to Afghan security forces during the war.
Sources: Operation Branding Iron II, Calculable Losses? Arms and Ammunition in Afghanistan
Timeline
Publicly documented AT4-related milestones in Afghanistan span both combat use by U.S. forces and later transfer accounting for Afghan government forces. The clearest dated use episode is the June 2012 DVIDS image from Operation Branding Iron II in Helmand province.
The Small Arms Survey paper, published in January 2024, uses public and government-derived records to identify M136 AT4 systems among light weapons exported or supplied to Afghanistan from 2002 to 2021. It supports the transfer and fielding context, but it does not by itself identify a specific Afghan unit firing the weapon in combat.
Sources: Operation Branding Iron II, Calculable Losses? Arms and Ammunition in Afghanistan
Operational role
In the documented Marine case, the M136 AT4 was used as a shoulder-fired direct-fire weapon during a patrol contact rather than as part of a tank engagement. The DVIDS caption says Marines were moving toward an objective when they were engaged by enemy fire during an operation intended to disrupt enemy logistics and deny freedom of movement.
For Afghan government forces, the public evidence is transfer and inventory-oriented. Small Arms Survey places the M136 AT4 in the portable anti-tank rocket system category and lists it with other light weapons exported to Afghanistan during the 2002-2021 period. That supports Afghan government fielding or supply, while leaving exact quantities, end-user units, and combat-use incidents unresolved in the cited public table.
Sources: Operation Branding Iron II, Calculable Losses? Arms and Ammunition in Afghanistan
