Featured Materials
A curated selection of images, terms and collections to help understand modern conflict.

Iran War 2026
Munition images from the ongoing Middle East conflict

Shahed-131 & -136 UAV
3D models explain the best-known 'kamikaze drones'

Collection
Munition images from the Gaza war

GBU-39 bomb
3D model explaining Israel's 'weapon of choice' in Gaza

Research organisation
Images from the Human Rights Watch archives

Collection
Munition images from the Ukraine war

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Keep up to date with newly added munitions

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Submit images to the OSMP
OSMP referenced in media and research
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BBC uses OSMP to investigate new U.S. missile

NYT uses OSMP to identify Iran school munition

AP highlights images of Iranian submunitions

The Incendiary Bomb Never Seen in Israel Before

UN report highlights OSMP importance

GIJN’s Top Investigative Tools of 2024

How GBU-39 bombs became Israel’s ‘weapon of choice’
1,101–1,200 of 1,832
Analyst Note
14 November 2024
The M712 ‘Copperhead’ is a laser-guided 155 mm artillery gun projectile carrying a high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead designed to engage armoured vehicles. The Copperhead was developed in the United States in the 1970s, and saw limited use during Operation Desert Storm. The M712 is is pictured here inside its shipping container, and the slots for the enclosed, deployable (‘pop-out’) wings and fins are visible. The M712 has two operational modes: a ballistic mode that follows a gun’s ballistic trajectory like a traditional artillery projectile, and a glide mode, which follows a longer and flatter trajectory. The preferred mode is set by the artillery crew before firing. (ARES)
Analyst Note
17 December 2024
As with several other images in the OSMP database, the text on this image was added by a social media user prior to its inclusion herein. Rather than a “rocket” as described in the annotation, this image actually shows an air-delivered bomb. (ARES)
Analyst Note
26 November 2024
The two North Korean 120 mm high explosive (HE) mortar projectiles in this image are each fitted with five cloth bags affixed above the tailfins. These are incremental propellant charges (sometimes known as augmenting, auxiliary, or supplemental charges), the number of which can be varied along with a mortar’s elevation to adjust the trajectory and range of the munition when fired. (ARES)
Analyst Note
26 November 2024
This image shows two Iranian 130 mm high explosive (HE) artillery gun projectiles. Calibre (“130MM”) and functional type (“HE - TNT”) markings are visible on the right-hand example, whilst a lot marking (“LOT:10/202[…]”) is partially obscured. The “TNT” marking indicates that this munition uses a trinitrotoluene composition as its explosive fill. (ARES)
Analyst Note
14 October 2024
This 9M27K-series surface-to-surface cargo rocket is loaded with either 9N210 or 9N235 high explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG) submunitions. These models are nearly identical in construction, differing primarily in the nature of the pre-formed fragments they carry. (ARES)
Analyst Note
26 November 2024
This image shows an Iranian 122 mm high explosive (HE) artillery gun projectile. Like several other munitions, it is described in Iranian sources—and, in this case, on the munition itself—only by reference to the weapon with which it is most often associated: the Soviet-designed 122 mm D-30 howitzer (often rendered ‘D30’, without the hyphen, in Iranian service). This munition is also marked to indicate it was produced in 2023. Interpreting munitions markings in this way, especially where they indicate recent manufacture, may provide evidence of ongoing supply during a conflict. (ARES)
Analyst Note
14 November 2024
The Stunner surface-to-air missile fired by the David’s Sling air defence system is a two-stage interceptor, meaning that the munition contains two separate rocket motors for launch and propulsion. The first stage, or launch motor, detaches from the munition after a short time, before the second stage, or flight motor, ignites. The second stage motor, visible here, was found relatively intact. (ARES)
Analyst Note
26 November 2024
The munition indicated in this image as a 152 mm high explosive (HE) artillery gun projectile manufactured in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). (ARES)
Analyst Note
24 January 2025
This image shows part of the warhead section of an MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) series tactical ballistic missile. This is the top of the warhead section, where it connects to the guidance section. A data plate is visible, giving information about the manufacturer (“Lockheed Martin Vought Systems”) and identifying this specific part (“WARHEAD, GUIDED MISSILE. HIGH EXPLOSIVE”. (ARES)
Analyst Note
26 November 2024
This image shows an SUU-30H/B, an air-delivered dispenser which can be configured to carry different submunition payloads. These can include 217 BLU-61 A/B, 650 BLU-63/B, or 650 BLU-86/B or BLU-86 A/B. The munition can also carry inert payloads. The specific combination of payload and dispenser determines the ‘Cluster Bomb Unit’ (CBU) designation, with SUU-30H/B dispensers being paired with different payloads to form the CBU-58 and CBU-71 series. Contextual information suggests that this dispenser was part of a CBU-58/B cluster munition, but this cannot be established from an assessment of this image alone. (ARES)
Analyst Note
25 November 2024
This image shows an aerosurface or ‘strake’ from a Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bomb guidance kit of the type fitted to MK 82-series 500-pound air-delivered bombs. The JDAM kits compatible with MK 82 bombs have aerosurfaces that are affixed near the nose of the bomb—rather than around the widest part of the bomb body, as seen in JDAM kits that are compatible with the larger MK 83 or MK 84 bombs. (ARES)
Analyst Note
14 November 2024
MK 84 unguided air-delivered bombs can be fitted with a variety of tail kits, or with guidance kits which convert them into precision guided munitions (PGMs). When an air-delivered bomb impacts a building or the ground without functioning, the tail or guidance kit may be sheared off. With these separated from the munition—and in the absence of other identifying features, such as a seeker fitted to the nose of the weapon—it becomes very difficult to determine whether the bomb was guided or unguided. (ARES)
Analyst Note
25 November 2024
The internal components of large, complex munitions often feature markings to aid in assembly, supply chain oversight, and quality assurance. In this case, a data plate marked with the name of the manufacturer (“MBDA FRANCE”) has been affixed to one of the rear control fins (“EQ, VENTRAL, FIN TIP”) of the missile. The NATO Stock Number (NSN) is also visible. (ARES)
Analyst Note
25 November 2024
This image shows an actuator from a Storm Shadow-series missile. Actuators are components of guided munitions that are most often used to move control surfaces (e.g., fins and wings), enabling the munition to adjust its course in-flight in response to guidance commands. In this case, the component is fitted with a ‘data plate’ that indicates it was manufactured by MBDA France. (ARES)
Analyst Note
25 November 2024
This image shows a Microturbo TRI 60-30 turbojet engine from a Storm Shadow-series air-launched cruise missile. Further remnants of the rear of the missile are also visible, including one of the rear control fins. The Storm Shadow has a range of more than 250 kilometres. (ARES)
Analyst Note
26 November 2024
This image shows the rear of the second stage of the penetrator warhead (also called a ‘follow-through’ warhead) of the Bomb Royal Ordnance Augmented Charge (BROACH) multi-stage warhead system present in the Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG missile. The cylindrical object in the centre of the warhead (with a data plate marked “THALES”) is the fuze. (ARES)
Analyst Note
26 November 2024
This image shows the first stage of the Bomb Royal Ordnance Augmented Charge (BROACH) multi-stage warhead used by the Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG missile. The BROACH uses a shaped-charge warhead (seen here) as its first stage, to help penetrate hardened targets, whilst the second stage comprises a conventional high explosive penetrator warhead (also called a ‘follow-through’ warhead) (ARES).
Analyst Note
26 November 2024
The remnant at left in this image is the second stage, or penetrator warhead, of the Bomb Royal Ordnance Augmented Charge (BROACH) multi-stage warhead as used in the Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG air-launched cruise missile. In this case, it has failed to function as intended. (ARES)
Analyst Note
11 November 2024
In this image, two GBU-39 guided air-delivered bombs can be seen in their shipping containers, with only the nose and the tail actuation section of the munitions clearly visible. Distinctive packaging such as this can sometimes be used as contextual evidence for the presence of specific munitions. (ARES)
Analyst Note
20 November 2024
This U.S. Department of Defense file photo shows an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launching an MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) series tactical ballistic missile. (ARES)
Analyst Note
20 November 2024
This image shows part of a heavy-duty suspension lug associated with the Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missile. This is made clear from dot-peened markings which include “STORM SHADOW USE ONLY” and identifiers such as a NATO Stock Number (NSN). (ARES)
Analyst Note
20 November 2024
The munitions remnant on the left of this image is part of a suspension lug associated with the Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missile, which is used to attach the munition to an aircraft. This component is of heavy construction, and as such often survives the missile’s functioning intact. This photograph purports to show remnants recovered from a Storm Shadow missile that was fired by Ukrainian forces into Russian territory, but this claim cannot be verified from the image alone. (ARES)
Analyst Note
19 November 2024
This MGM-140 cluster munition has failed to function as intended, and its payload of M74 submunitions is seen here spilling out of the warhead. (ARES)
Analyst Note
19 November 2024
These R-122 ‘Grad’-type 122 mm surface-to-surface rockets were produced in North Korea. The example to the right is fitted with an F-122 impact fuze. Whilst a two-tone colour scheme is more common amongst those North Korean Grad rockets thus far identified in the context of the Ukraine conflict (these typically featuring a black forward section), uniformly coloured examples like this have also been identified previously. (ARES)
Analyst Note
19 November 2024
Two of the distinctive, black tailfins used on S8-series air-to-surface rockets are visible to front and left of the remnant material. (ARES)



































































































