Thai troops seize large cache of Cambodian weapons on Hill 500

The Army Military Force Facebook page said on Monday evening (December 15) that Thai troops from the 2nd Battalion of the 17th Infantry Regiment seized a large number of Chinese-made weapons from Cambodian soldiers on Hill 500 after successfully reclaiming the area.

Among the items seized were 82mm projected grenades (82mm Type 65), which are used with China’s Type 65 or Type 65-1 recoilless grenade launchers, along with various types of ammunition, the post said.

It also cited the Norinco PF-89 (Type 89), an unguided, portable anti-tank rocket launcher with an 80mm calibre and a length of 900mm, manufactured by Norinco in China. The system is classified as an anti-tank and anti-bunker weapon, with an effective range of 200 metres and a maximum range of 400 metres.

The PF-89 is designed as a lightweight infantry weapon that is easy to carry, weighing about 3.7 kilograms, and comes as a single-shot, disposable launch tube, the page said.

It added that the PF-89 (Type 89) has been developed into multiple variants to suit different target types. The basic PF-89 and PF-89A primarily use HEAT (high-explosive anti-tank) warheads designed to penetrate light to medium armoured vehicles with a high-energy jet.

For modern tanks equipped with special protection such as explosive reactive armour (ERA), the PF-89B variant uses a tandem shaped-charge HEAT warhead, which is intended to defeat the ERA before the main charge penetrates the armour, it said.

Beyond anti-armour roles, it said the WPF-89-1 and WPF-89-2 variants use thermobaric warheads intended to destroy targets inside buildings or troops in cover by generating a wide-area blast and high pressure, making them particularly effective in enclosed spaces.

The page added that a day earlier the same Thai unit had seized a Chinese-made fifth-generation guided anti-tank missile system, the GAM-102LR, from Cambodian soldiers.