Iraqi Army soldiers used recently issued NSV 12.7 mm heavy machine guns in Fallujah in October 2006, documented in a Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq publication hosted by DVIDS.
| Claim | Sources |
|---|---|
| Iraqi government forces used the NSV during the 2003 Iraq War. | Sources: Advisor, Nov. 4, 2006 |
| The documented user was the 4th Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division in Fallujah. | Sources: Advisor, Nov. 4, 2006 |
| The weapon was a 12.7x108 mm heavy machine gun suited to crew-served or mounted fire-support roles. | Sources: Differential Identification of NSV and Kord Heavy Machine Guns, NSV 12.7 Utyos Heavy Machine Gun |
Timeline
The Advisor identified an Iraqi soldier firing an NSV 12.7 mm heavy machine gun in Fallujah and said several of the guns had recently been issued to the 4th Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division.
Sources: Advisor, Nov. 4, 2006
The November 4, 2006 issue of The Advisor, hosted by DVIDS, published the Fallujah caption and related reporting on Iraqi Army operations around the city.
Sources: Advisor, Nov. 4, 2006
The NSV is directly documented in Iraqi government service during the 2003 Iraq War through a DVIDS-hosted issue of The Advisor, the official weekly report for Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq. A photo caption in the November 4, 2006 issue identifies an Iraqi soldier firing an NSV 12.7 mm heavy machine gun in Fallujah on October 17, 2006.
The same caption states that several of the machine guns had recently been issued to the 4th Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division. That evidence places the weapon with Iraqi government and security forces rather than with coalition forces or insurgent groups in this documented incident.
Sources: Advisor, Nov. 4, 2006
On October 17, 2006, the DVIDS-hosted publication photographed an Iraqi soldier firing the NSV in Fallujah. The issue was published on November 4, 2006, during the period when the 4th Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division was conducting security missions around Fallujah and working with coalition advisors.
The publication describes the brigade as operating in and around Fallujah, including checkpoints, mounted patrols, improvised-explosive-device sweeps, house clearings, detentions, and roadway security. Within that context, the NSV appears as a recently issued heavy machine gun for Iraqi Army use.
Sources: Advisor, Nov. 4, 2006
The documented 2006 Iraq War role was crew-served heavy-weapons fire support for Iraqi Army forces. The source does not identify a specific engagement in which the NSV was fired at an enemy target, but it does directly show the weapon being fired by an Iraqi soldier at Fallujah and connects the issued guns to the 4th Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division.
Technical background sources describe the NSV Utes as a Soviet 12.7x108 mm heavy machine gun usable from tripod, vehicle, or other mounts against personnel, firing points, light armor, and low-flying aerial targets. Those characteristics explain why the catalog classifies the Iraq War row as fire support, while the conflict-use claim itself rests on the DVIDS-hosted Iraq source.
Sources: Advisor, Nov. 4, 2006, Differential Identification of NSV and Kord Heavy Machine Guns, NSV 12.7 Utyos Heavy Machine Gun
