Direct proof of use
The S-8 rocket family is directly documented in the 2011 Syrian Civil War through Syrian Arab Air Force use of B-8 rocket pods. Bellingcat reported that Syrian Mi-25, MiG-29, and Su-22 aircraft began employing B-8 pods in October 2013 and that the 80 mm S-8 rockets fired from those pods had already struck Arsal, Lebanon, in June 2013.
A separate Aviationist report tied the system to a specific dated aircraft sequence. It identified images taken on 30 November 2013 as showing a Syrian Arab Air Force MiG-23ML using B-8 pods to fire at ground targets in Jabal Azzawiyah, Idlib province, and noted that those pods fire 80 mm S-8 unguided rockets.
Sources: Bellingcat Syrian Arab Air Force S-8, The Aviationist Syrian MiG-23 S-8
Timeline
The public record used here places Syrian Arab Air Force S-8 use by mid-2013 and shows wider B-8 pod employment later that year. Bellingcat described the June 2013 Arsal impacts as the first S-8 use by the Syrian Arab Air Force and said B-8 pod employment by Mi-25s, MiG-29s, and Su-22s became apparent in October 2013.
The clearest dated visual episode is the 30 November 2013 MiG-23ML sequence over Jabal Azzawiyah. Bellingcat later described MiG-23MF, MiG-23ML, and MiG-23MLD fighters as flying air-to-ground sorties over Syria with rocket pods, B-8 pods, or bombs, placing S-8-compatible pods inside a broader Syrian fixed-wing strike pattern.
Sources: Bellingcat Syrian Arab Air Force S-8, The Aviationist Syrian MiG-23 S-8
Aircraft and role
The documented user was the Syrian Arab Air Force on the Syrian government side of the war. The S-8 appeared as an unguided air-to-ground rocket fired from B-8 pods rather than as an independently deployed ground weapon in the Syria sources used for this page.
The S-8's role was short-range fire support from aircraft against ground targets. The sources identify several carrier types: Bellingcat names Mi-25, MiG-29, and Su-22 aircraft in the first visible B-8 pod adoption and describes later MiG-23 air-to-ground sorties with B-8 pods, while The Aviationist documents a MiG-23ML firing over Idlib province. Bellingcat's T4 airbase reporting also records L-39 aircraft rewired to carry 80 mm B-8 rocket pods.
Sources: Bellingcat Syrian Arab Air Force S-8, The Aviationist Syrian MiG-23 S-8, Bellingcat T4 Airbase B-8 Pods
Evidence boundaries
The sources support Syrian government use of S-8 rockets through B-8 aircraft pods and identify carrier aircraft and several locations or periods. They do not provide a complete sortie count, a full inventory of Syrian S-8 variants, or a comprehensive target list for every B-8-equipped aircraft mission.
The Arsal reference is included as a Syrian Arab Air Force S-8 strike tied to the Syrian war, but the strongest Syria-internal dated example in this record is the 30 November 2013 MiG-23ML firing sequence in Jabal Azzawiyah, Idlib province.
Sources: Bellingcat Syrian Arab Air Force S-8, The Aviationist Syrian MiG-23 S-8
