Profile
- Type
- 300 mm unguided cluster artillery rocket
- Conflict side
- Yemeni government and coalition forces
- Origin
- Brazil
- Service note
- ASTROS II export-service rocket documented in Yemen from 2015
Munitions
SS-60 Mk4 Cluster Rocket
The 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.
- Conflict side
- Yemeni government and coalition forces
- Built in
- Brazil
Service History
- In service
- Export ASTROS II rocket family service; SS-60 Mk4-marked remnants documented in Yemen in 2015
- Used by
- Saudi-led coalition forces, Saudi Arabian Armed Forces
- Wars
- Yemen Civil War
Production History
- Designer
- Avibras Industria Aeroespacial SA
- Designed
- ASTROS II family developed from the early 1980s
- Built in
- Brazil
- Produced
- ASTROS II rocket family production from the 1980s
- Variants
- SS-60, SS-60 Mk4, SS-80
Specifications
- Caliber
- 300 mm
- Length
- About 5.6 m
- Weight
- About 595 kg
- Warhead
- Cluster/cargo warhead with up to 65 dual-purpose submunitions
- Guidance
- Unguided ballistic rocket
- Range
- About 20-60 km for SS-60
- Launch platform
- ASTROS II multiple launch rocket system; one SS-60 rocket per reload box, four 300 mm rockets per launcher load
Conflict Usage
- Yemen Civil War
- Side: Yemeni government and coalition forcesRole: Ground-launched area fires with cluster munitions
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and ARES documented Brazilian ASTROS cluster rockets and SS-60 Mk4-marked remnants after Saudi-led coalition strikes in Saada governorate, including attacks from 2015 to 2017.
SS-60 Mk4 Cluster Rocket Images
Related Weapon Systems
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.
SUU-30H/B dispenserAir-delivered submunition dispenserThe SUU-30H/B is a U.S.-origin, fin-stabilized submunition dispenser used as the cargo body for several air-dropped cluster bomb units, including CBU-52B/B and CBU-58A/B configurations. Open-source munitions documentation links SUU-30H/B remnants to Saudi/UAE-led coalition airstrikes during the Yemen Civil War.
9K52 Luna-M artillery rocket systemArtillery rocket systemThe 9K52 Luna-M, known to NATO as FROG-7, is a Soviet wheeled short-range artillery rocket system whose unguided 9M21 rockets remained in Houthi hands during the Yemen Civil War, where they were used for close-range and cross-border strikes.
LAR-160160 mm artillery rocket / cluster-munition rocketThe 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.
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.
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.Sources
Yemen: Cluster Munitions Wound ChildrenPublisher: Human Rights Watch | Note: Supports Yemen Civil War direct use: Saudi-led coalition forces used Brazilian ASTROS cluster munition rockets in Yemen, and Saudi Arabia and Bahrain had purchased ASTROS cluster munition rockets from Brazil. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Yemen: Brazilian Cluster Munitions Suspected in Coalition AttackPublisher: Amnesty International | Note: Supports Yemen Civil War direct use: Saudi Arabia-led coalition forces appear to have used Brazilian cluster munitions in Saada in October 2015. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Brazilian SS-60 Cargo Rockets Employed in YemenPublisher: Armament Research Services | Note: Supports Yemen Civil War direct use: SS-60 Mk4-marked remnants were fielded or fired in strikes in Saada governorate; also supports Avibras manufacturer background. | Accessed: 2026-06-20ASTROS II Weapon SystemPublisher: U.S. Army ODIN | Note: Supports ASTROS II system background, launcher family context, and technical classification. | Accessed: 2026-06-20ASTROS Rocket FamilyPublisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports SS-60 specifications including caliber, length, weight, unguided ballistic flight, submunition warhead, and range. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons Avibras ASTROS-II SS-30 Launch ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain ASTROS II launch image used as rights-clear visual context for the SS-60 Mk4 rocket family. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons ASTROS-2 Launcher ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain ASTROS II launcher image used as rights-clear visual context. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons ASTROS-II MLRS Launch ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain ASTROS II rocket-launch image used as rights-clear visual context. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons Brazilian ASTROS II Launchers ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a CC BY 2.0 image of Brazilian ASTROS II launchers. | Accessed: 2026-06-20