China's Rocket Launchers in First Combat with Thai Forces

The Cambodian army launched Chinese-made 90B rocket launchers into combat, marking their first combat use.

Thai media reports confirmed the Cambodian army's first use of AR-2 long-range rocket launchers.

Meanwhile, Thai troops used Chinese-made PW-78 (Type 78) 82mm recoilless rifles, armed with Israeli-made IWI Negev NG-5 light machine guns and American-made M16A4 assault rifles, to fire at the Cambodian Army.

Thai soldiers fired Chinese-made PW-78 (Type 78) 82mm recoilless rifles.

The Thai army continued to increase its troop loadout on the 26th. Cambodian soldiers opened fire on Thai army positions. Cambodian Army soldiers were attacking Thai border positions, using Chinese-made Type 81 squad light machine guns and Type 69 anti-tank rocket launchers. One Cambodian soldier, shirtless and shoeless, alternately attacked Thai positions with the Type 81 and Type 40 light machine guns. This is perfectly normal in Southeast Asian countries. Wars in Southeast Asia are all like this. Because it's so hot, especially in the tropical rainforests, clothes get soaked after a short while. This season in subtropical Southeast Asia is humid, stuffy, and hot.

Cambodian soldiers attacked Flight 81, firing 40 rockets.

The Cambodian military announced that it had successfully shelled Thai Army positions along the border between Surin and Sisaket provinces. According to Thai sources, the Cambodian rockets penetrated 10 to 15 kilometers into Thai territory, and explosions were heard deep inside Thai territory.

A Thai drone team was shelled by Cambodian troops.

The Cambodian and Thai armies engaged each other with mortars, and a Thai drone position was precisely targeted by Cambodian artillery. So far, both the Cambodian and Thai armies have been hurt. The Cambodian army's strengths lie in rockets, artillery, and individual positions, while the Thai army's strengths lie in bombing runs by F-16 fighter jets and large armored assaults. However, Thailand is furious and shows no sign of stopping. Comparing the two countries' military strengths, Thailand is undoubtedly superior. Here's a little-known fact: the Thai Navy has an aircraft carrier with a fully loaded displacement of 11,000 tons. Compared to the current Russo-Ukrainian war, the fighting between the Cambodian and Thai armies can only be described as child's play, jungle guerrilla warfare, and appears to be quite dull.

The Thai army continued to deploy troops late on the night of the 25th.

As of July 26th, fierce fighting between the Thai and Cambodian armies continued. Having lost the commanding heights of Eggplant Hill, the Cambodian army began mobilizing its most powerful weapons, Chinese-made 90B rocket launchers and AR-2 long-range rocket launchers, to launch a heavy artillery attack on the Thai forces. The Thai army continued to deploy troops to the front lines. Overall, aside from the Eggplant Hill battle, where Thailand deployed suicide squads to forcibly ascend the summit, the exchanges between the two sides were primarily drone-assisted, artillery-fired, and long-range rocket artillery attacks on high-value targets.

The Cambodian army achieved a degree of retaliation through rocket artillery.

Currently, the Thai army does not have an advantage in artillery strikes. The Thai artillery still utilizes towed artillery and a small number of truck-mounted artillery pieces built with Israeli technology. The Thai artillery unexpectedly mobilized, firing American-made 105mm howitzer batteries at the Cambodian Army. The M-101 howitzer was one of the standard howitzers of the US military during World War II, produced since 1941. The Thai Army acquired the M-101 during the Korean War. In the 1990s, Thailand imported howitzer technology from France and upgraded the American-made M101 105mm howitzers, replacing the barrel and improving the gun mechanism, increasing the range to 17.5 kilometers. The targets of the Thai artillery's 105mm howitzers were the Cambodian Army's D-30 howitzers and the Chinese-made Type 96 howitzers.

The Thai army fired US-made 105mm howitzers.

The Cambodian army, equipped with Type 96 howitzers, exchanged fire with US-made 105mm howitzers.

The Chinese-made Type 96 howitzer is also a 122mm howitzer, a copy and improved version of the D30 122mm howitzer. The Cambodian army reportedly possessed 100 Chinese-made Type 96 howitzers. The Thai army significantly outnumbered the Cambodian army in rocket artillery, and the Cambodian army relied solely on rocket artillery to retaliate against the Thai army. Overall, the Thai army's tactical skills were poor. With such a significant advantage in weaponry over the Cambodian army, the situation became a war of attrition. The Thai army should have deployed F-16 fighter jets to bomb all Cambodian positions long ago. Instead, the Thai army engaged in a back-and-forth battle with the Cambodian army.