List of equipment of the Armed Forces of Belarus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of the equipment used by the Armed Forces of Belarus. The military forces of Belarus are almost exclusively armed with Soviet-era equipment inherited from the Soviet Union. Although large in numbers, some western experts consider some of it outdated.

Infantry weapons[edit]

Model Image Caliber Origin Type Notes
Pistols
TT pistol[1] 7.62×25mm Tokarev  Soviet Union Semi-automatic pistol Issued to Territorial Defense units.[2]
PSM 5.45×18mm  Soviet Union Semi-automatic pistol [1]
Makarov PM 9×18mm Makarov  Soviet Union Semi-automatic pistol [1]
Stechkin 9×18mm Makarov  Soviet Union Selective fire machine pistol [3]
Glock 17 9×19mm Parabellum  Austria Semi-automatic pistol Used by OMON, "Almaz" counter-terrorist unit, KGB Alpha Group.[4]
SIG Sauer P226 9×19mm Parabellum  Germany
 Switzerland
Semi-automatic pistol P226 used by Special Forces, OSAM (Border guard) "Almaz", KGB Alpha Group, and SBP (Presidential security).[4]
Submachine guns
Heckler & Koch MP5[5] 9×19mm Parabellum  Germany Submachine gun MP5A3 and MP5SD3, MP5A5, MP5k variants imported from Turkey.[6][7]
Shotguns
Remington Model 870 12-gauge  United States Pump-action combat shotgun Used by Ministry of Interior units or paratroopers.[4]
Mossberg 500 12-gauge  United States Pump-action combat shotgun Used by OMON, Almaz, and KGB Alpha group. The Mossberg Maverick 88 is also used.[4]
Benelli M4 12-gauge  Italy Semi-automatic combat shotgun Used by OMON, "Almaz" counter-terrorist unit, Border Guard Service Institute and KGB Alpha Group. Seen in use with security forces in Minsk during the 2020 protests.[4]
Assault rifles
AKM 7.62×39mm  Soviet Union Assault rifle [1]
AK-74 5.45×39mm  Soviet Union Assault rifle Standard service rifle.[1][8]
AKS-74 5.45×39mm  Soviet Union Assault rifle [8]
AKS-74U 5.45×39mm  Soviet Union Assault carbine [1][8]
AS Val 9×39mm  Soviet Union Suppressed assault rifle Used by special forces.[9]
9A-91 9×39mm  Russia Carbine [10]
Sniper rifles and designated marksman rifles
VSS Vintorez 9×39mm  Soviet Union Suppressed sniper rifle Used by special forces.[9]
Dragunov SVD 7.62×54mmR  Soviet Union Semi-automatic designated marksman rifle [1]
MTs-116M 7.62×54mmR  Russia Bolt-action sniper rifle Used by special forces (SSO).[9]
Orsis T-5000 .338 Lapua Magnum  Russia Bolt-action sniper rifle Used by special forces.[9]
OSV-96 12.7×108mm  Russia Anti-materiel sniper rifle Used by special forces.[9]
Machine guns
PK machine gun 7.62×54mmR  Soviet Union General-purpose machine gun PKM variant used.[2] Manufactured locally.[5]
RPK 7.62×39mm  Soviet Union Squad automatic weapon Issued to Territorial Defense units.[2] Manufactured locally.[5]
RPK-74 5.45×39mm  Soviet Union Squad automatic weapon [8]
DShK 12.7×108mm  Soviet Union Heavy machine gun [1]
NSV 12.7×108mm  Soviet Union Heavy machine gun [1]
Grenade launchers
GP-25/30/34 40 mm VOG-25  Soviet Union
 Russia
Underslung grenade launcher [8]
Rocket propelled grenade launchers
RPO-A Shmel 93 mm  Soviet Union
 Russia
Rocket-propelled grenade The PDM-A Priz is replacing the RPO-A Shmel flamethrower.[11]
RPG-7 40 mm (launcher only, warhead diameter varies)  Soviet Union Rocket-propelled grenade [2][8]
RPG-26 72.5 mm  Soviet Union Rocket-propelled grenade [12]
Recoilless rifles
SPG-9 73 mm  Soviet Union Recoilless rifle Used by Territorial Defense units.[2]
Anti-tank guided missiles
9K111 Fagot 120 mm  Soviet Union Anti-tank guided missile [13]
9M113 Konkurs[13] 135 mm  Soviet Union
 Belarus
Anti-tank guided missile Upgraded 9P135M1(RB) Konkurs launchers used.[14]
9K115 Metis[13] 94 mm  Soviet Union Anti-tank guided missile Used by Territorial Defense units.[2]
Shershen 130 mm & 152 mm  Belarus
 Ukraine
Anti-tank guided missile Belarusian variant of the Ukrainian Skif ATGM.[15]
Mortars
M-43 82 mm  Soviet Union Infantry mortar [1]
2B11 120 mm  Soviet Union Heavy mortar [1]

Vehicles[edit]

Name Image Origin Type In service Notes
Tanks
T-72A  Soviet Union Main battle tank N/A Limited numbers still used for training.[16] As of October 2022, at least 94 T-72A tanks were transferred to the Russian Armed Forces as support of war in Ukraine.[17]
T-72B 477[13] Can be equipped with slat armour.[16]
T-72B3 Obr. 2016  Russia 20[13] [16]
Armoured fighting vehicles
BRM-1  Soviet Union Reconnaissance vehicle 132[13]
BRDM-2RKh  Soviet Union NBC reconnaissance vehicle N/A Used by NBC Protection Troops.[13]
Caiman  Belarus Reconnaissance vehicle 13+[13] Used by special forces and a modified variant is used by NBC Protection Troops.[13]
MT-LB  Soviet Union Armoured personnel carrier
78+[13] Some were modified as armoured engineering vehicles.[13]
RKhM-4  Russia NBC reconnaissance vehicle N/A Used by NBC Protection Troops.[13]
Infantry fighting vehicles
BMP-2  Soviet Union Infantry fighting vehicle 906[13] 20 BMP-2 were transferred to the Russian Armed Forces in 2022.[18]
BTR-82A  Russia 31+[19] [16]
Armoured personnel carriers
BTR-70MB1  Soviet Union
 Belarus
Armoured personnel carrier 64[13] Used by special forces.[13]
BTR-80  Soviet Union 153[13] Can be equipped with slat armour.[16]
Infantry mobility vehicles
GAZ Tigr-M  Russia Infantry mobility vehicle N/A [16]
Dongfeng EQ2050  China 22[20] Used by Belarusian special forces.[21][22]
MZKT-4190100 Volat V1  Belarus N/A [16]
Dajiang CS/VN3  China 12[13] Used by special forces.[13]
Engineering vehicles
BAT-2  Soviet Union Armoured engineering vehicle N/A [16]
IMR-2(M)  Soviet Union N/A [16]
BREM-K  Russia Armoured recovery vehicle N/A [16]
MTU-20  Soviet Union Armoured vehicle launched bridge 20[13]
MT-55A  Czechoslovakia 4[13]
UR-77 'Meteorit'  Soviet Union Mine-clearing line charge N/A [16]
Self-propelled anti-Tank missile systems
9P148 Konkurs  Soviet Union Anti-tank guided missile 75[13]
9P149 Shturm-S  Soviet Union 85[13] [16]
Towed artillery
82mm 2B9 Vasilek  Soviet Union Gun-mortar N/A Used by Territorial Defense units.[2]
100mm MT-12 Rapira[16] Anti-tank gun N/A Used by Territorial Defense units.[2]
120mm 2B23 NONA-M1 Gun-mortar 18[13] Used by special forces.[13]
122mm D-30 Howitzer 24[13] Used by special forces.[13]
152mm 2A65 Msta-B 108[13] [16]
Self-propelled artillery
122mm 2S1 Gvozdika  Soviet Union Self-propelled howitzer 125[13] [16]
152mm 2S3(M) Akatsiya 125[13] [16]
152mm 2S5 Giatsint-S 107[13] [16]
152mm 2S19 Msta-S 12[13] [16]
Multiple rocket launchers
122mm BM-21 Grad  Soviet Union
 Belarus
Multiple launch rocket system 128[13] Modernized to the BM-21A "BelGrad" standard. Currently being upgraded to the BM-21B "BelGrad 2" standard.[23]
220mm BM-27 Uragan  Soviet Union
 Belarus
36[13] Being upgraded to the Uragan-M standard.[24]
300mm BM-30 Smerch  Soviet Union 36[13] [16]
Guided Multiple Rocket Launchers
Polonez  People's Republic of China
 Belarus
Rocket artillery 6[13] Range: 200km, CEP: 30m, Chinese-designed A200 guided rocket produced in Belarus.[16]
Polonez-M Range: 290km, CEP: 45m, Chinese-designed A300 guided rocket produced in Belarus.[16]
Short-range ballistic missiles
OTR-21 Tochka-U  Soviet Union Short-range ballistic missile 36[13] Range: 120km, CEP: 95m, slated for replacement by the Chinese-designed M20 SRBM fired from the Polonez launcher.[16]
9K720 Iskander  Russia 4[25] 4 Launchers and 25 Iskander-M missiles delivered in 2022.[25]
Anti-Aircraft Guns
14.5mm ZPU-4  Soviet Union Anti-aircraft gun N/A Used by Territorial Defense units.[2]
23mm ZU-23 N/A Mounted on technicals.[13]
Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Guns
30mm 2K22(M) Tunguska  Soviet Union Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun N/A [16]
Self-propelled surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems
9K35 Strela-10  Soviet Union Surface-to-air missile system N/A Range: 5km.[16]
9K33 Osa  Soviet Union
 Belarus
N/A Range: 15km.[16] Being modernized to the 9A33-2B standard.[26]
Tor-M2K  Russia 21[13] Range: 16km.[16]
9K37 Buk  Soviet Union N/A Range: 25km.[16]
S-300PS N/A Range: 90km.[16] 4 batteries delivered by Russia in 2006, possibly in exchange for TELs for the Topol-M ICBM system.[25]
S-300PMU  Russia 4[25] 4 batteries and 150 missiles delivered by Russia between 2015 and 2016 as part of a joint air defense agreement.[25]
S-400 Triumf 2 Two batteries were ordered in 2021, the first one was delivered in 2022, the second in 2023.[25][27]
Electronic warfare systems
SPN-30  Soviet Union Electronic countermeasure N/A [16]
Groza R-934UM2 'Groza-6'  Belarus N/A [16]
Radars
P-18 'Spoon Rest D'  Soviet Union Radar N/A [16]
P-35/37 'Bar Lock' N/A [16]
PRV-9 'Thin Skin E' N/A [16]
PRV-16 'Thin Skin B' N/A [16]
36D6 'Tin Shield' N/A [16]
55ZH6 'Tall Rack' N/A [16]
1L22 'Parol' N/A [16]
1S80 'Sborka' PPRU N/A [16]
Rosa-RB-M Ashuluk  Belarus N/A [16]
Vostok-3D N/A [16]
Protivnik-GE N/A [16]
9S18 'Kupol'  Soviet Union N/A Used for the Buk.[16]
30N6 'Flad Lid' N/A Used for the S-300.[16]
76N6 'Clam Shell' N/A Used for the S-300.[16]
91N6 'Big Bird' N/A Used for the S-300.[16]
Unmanned aerial vehicles
Orlan-10  Russia Surveillance N/A [16]
Supercam S100 N/A [16]
Supercam S350 N/A [16]
Irkut-3 N/A [16]
Irkut-10 N/A [16]
Formula  Belarus N/A [16]
VR-12 Moskit-N N/A [16]
Busel M N/A [16]

Bibliography[edit]

  • Jones, Richard; Ness, Leland S., eds. (2010). Jane's Infantry Weapons 2010-2011. Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0-7106-2908-1.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Jones & Ness 2010, p. 904.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "It Became Known What the belarusian Territorial Defense is Armed With, Which the Wagnerians Will Train | Defense Express". en.defence-ua.com. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  3. ^ Волчков, Владимир (21 November 2003). ""Морская пехота" городских улиц". Беларусь Сегодня (in Russian). Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e FIDH. Supplying the Means for Repression in Belarus - Transfer of crowd-control weapons (mis)used to crack down on human rights (PDF). p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC). Belarus - SALW Guide (PDF). p. 2. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  6. ^ "UNROCA (United Nations Register of Conventional Arms)". www.unroca.org. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  7. ^ "UNROCA (United Nations Register of Conventional Arms)". www.unroca.org. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Титульный экран". ebooks.grsu.by. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Small Arms of Belarusian Special Forces -". The Firearm Blog. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  10. ^ Макаров, Александр (21 May 2015). "Полк высоких технологий". Беларусь Сегодня (in Russian). Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Optimization of Belarusian army's composition, personnel numbers named top priority | Latest events in Belarus - Opinions & Interviews". Official Website of the Republic of Belarus (Press release). 25 October 2018. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  12. ^ Mizokami, Kyle (5 June 2018). "Belarus Invents Tank-Killing Quadcopter Drone". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al International Institute for Strategic Studies (15 February 2023). The Military Balance 2023 (1st ed.). Routledge. pp. 175–176. ISBN 978-1032508955.
  14. ^ "MILEX 2019: Belarus begins to export Konkurs-RB ATGM launcher". Janes.com. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Shershen ATGM: A Belarusian version of Skif with additional capabilities". Spec Ops Magazine. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba Mitzer, Stijn; Oliemans, Joost (5 November 2022). "Fading Into Oblivion: Belarus Fighting Vehicle List". Oryx. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Belarus transfers additional 24 tanks to Russia". Ukrainska Pravda. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  18. ^ "Belarus sent 20 BMP-2 to Russia". Militarnyi. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  19. ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies (2022). The military balance. 2022. Abingdon, Oxon. p. 185. ISBN 978-1032279008.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  20. ^ "China donates 22 off-roaders to Belarusian Army". Belarusian Telegraph Agency. June 20, 2012. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  21. ^ Parameswaran, Prashanth. "China Gives Belarus New Armored Vehicles". thediplomat.com.
  22. ^ James Dunnigan (July 12, 2012). "The Great Chinese Hummer Give-Away". Archived from the original on March 10, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  23. ^ Zielonka, Mateusz (15 June 2021). "Białoruś: próby BM-21B BelGrad-2 na finiszu". defence24.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  24. ^ Fediushko, Dmitry (22 May 2019). "MILEX 2019: Belarus upgrades mid-range MRL inventory". Janes.com. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  25. ^ a b c d e f "Trade Registers". Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  26. ^ "Belarus localises 9K33 Osa air-defence system modernisation". Janes.com. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  27. ^ "New battalion of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems goes on combat duty in Belarus".