The 2B9 Vasilek (''2Б9 "Василёк" - Cornflower'') is an automatic 82 mm gun-mortar developed in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

in 1967 and fielded with the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

in 1970. It was based on the F-82 automatic mortar. Unlike conventional mortars, the 2B9 can fire in single and automatic mode using four-round clips. Rounds can be loaded from either the muzzle or the breech. Because of its wheeled carriage, the 2B9 resembles a light artillery piece more than a conventional mortar. The 2B9 was used in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

by Soviet units and is still found in Russian

airmobile Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces behind ...

infantry units. In the fighting in Afghanistan, Soviet units found the 2B9 to be a versatile and useful weapon. The 2B9 can fire high-explosive, armor-piercing and smoke shells, as well as flares. The armor-piercing projectile, which weighs 3.1 kg, has a 75 g warhead that can penetrate 100mm of armor. Upon blast, the shell produces 400 to 600 fragments. The 2B9 can be towed but is usually carried on a modified

GAZ-66 The GAZ-66 is a Soviet and later Russian 4x4 all-road (off-road) military truck produced by GAZ. It was one of the main cargo vehicles for motorized infantry of the Soviet Army and is still employed in former Soviet Union countries. It is nick ...

. By 1988, the 2B9 was also deployed as a self-propelled weapon by mounting the gun-mortar in the rear of an

MT-LB The MT-LB (russian: Многоцелевой Тягач Легкий Бронированный, translit=Mnogotselevoy tyagach legky bronirovanny, literally "multi-purpose towing vehicle light armored") is a Soviet multi-purpose, fully amphibi ...

armored personnel carrier. During the Syrian Civil War, the 2B9M Vasilek was used by the

Syrian Armed Forces The Syrian Arab Armed Forces ( ar, الْقُوَّاتُ الْمُسَلَّحَةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ, al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah) are the military forces of the Syrian Arab Re ...

, Kurdish

People's Protection Units The People's Defense Units (YPG), (YPG) ; ar, وحدات حماية الشعب, Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb) also called People's Protection Units, is a mainly- Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democra ...

, and the Islamist group

Ansar al-Sham , native_name_lang= , war=the Syrian Civil War , image= Ansar al-Sham Logo Flag of Ansar al-Sham , caption= , active=September 2012 – present , ideology= Sunni Islamism *Salafism ** Salafi jihadism , leaders=Abu Omar al-Jamil(overall leader)A ...

. The latter used a 2B9M automatic mortar near Mount Chalma,

Kesab Kessab, Kesab, or Kasab ( ar, كسب ; hy, Քեսապ, Kesab) is a mostly Armenian-populated town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Latakia Governorate, located 59 kilometers north of Latakia. It is situated near the border with ...

district.

Variants

* 2B9 Vasilek – Basic model ** 2B9M Vasilek – Modernised version introduced in 1982, and adopted in 1983. * DE-82 - upgraded Hungarian version developed in 1987. * Type W99 – 2B9 Vasilek produced in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Norinco China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, doing business internationally as Norinco Group (North Industries Corporation), and known within China as China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation Limited (), is a Chinese state-owned defense ...

Operators

Current operators

* * * * * * – As for Saddam's era, often used mounted on

. * * * * * – Used by both government and rebel forces in the Syrian Civil War. * – Used by both government and

Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic ( rus, Донецкая Народная Республика, Donetskaya Narodnaya Respublika, dɐˈnʲetskəjə nɐˈrodnəjə rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə; abbreviated as DPR or DNR, rus, ДНР) is a disputed en ...

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk or Lugansk People's Republic (russian: Луга́нская Наро́дная Респу́блика, Luganskaya Narodnaya Respublika, ; abbreviated as LPR or LNR, rus, ЛНР) is a disputed entity created by Russian-backed ...

forces in the

war in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

How the "Cornflower" fires 13/11/14.
''Novorossia TV''. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.

Former operators

* – Passed down to successor states.

References

External links

{{SovArtyColdWar Cold War artillery of the Soviet Union Mortars of the Soviet Union Infantry mortars 82 mm artillery 82 mm mortars Gun-mortars Military equipment introduced in the 1970s