Eastern Libyan forces parade new Russian equipment

The annual parade held by the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) – the faction that controls eastern and much of southern Libya – suggests that Russia has made significant deliveries of military equipment over the last year.

Image caption: A Tor short-range air defence follows a ZSU-23-4 in the parade held at the new Military City south of Benghazi on 26 May 2025.
Image credit: Libyan Arab Armed Forces
© Libyan Arab Armed Forces

New Russian-made air defence systems on display

Held on 26 May, the televised parade included several Russian-made systems that have not been seen in previous LAAF parades, most notably two Tor short-range air-defence systems and two 300 mm BM-30 Smerch multiple rocket launchers. The Tors looked like the Tor-M1-2U system, a modernised version of the Tor-M1 that was delivered to Russian forces before the Tor-M2 entered production. They differed from the Tor-M2 and the Tor-M2Es that Egypt received as they did not have auxiliary power units that hang over their rear on the right side. An aerial shot also showed that their missile hatches open to the back and front, like those on the Tor-M1-2U and Tor-M2E, but not the Tor-M2, where they open to the sides. There are multiple operators of the BM-30, potentially including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which supports the LAAF and reportedly received six BM-30s, although this remains unconfirmed. A UAE variant of the Pantsir-S1 short-range air-defence system mounted on a Man truck brought up the end of the parade, along with a Pantsir-S1 on the standard Kamaz truck and with the original radar, a version used by Syria as well as Russia. Emirati Pantsirs were deployed to Libya to support the LAAF’s failed attempt to capture Tripoli in 2020. While several were destroyed by Turkish unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), one that survived was seen in an exercise in 2024. A standard Pantsir-S1 has previously appeared in at least one photograph purportedly showing a Russian contractor deployed to Libya.

Upgraded models of Russian armoured vehicles show recent deliveries

The presence in the parade of three BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, a type not previously seen in Libya, that had received the latest Russian upgrades provided more evidence of recent Russian transfers. The BMP-2M upgrade was unveiled in Russia in 2013 and comprises the Berezhok turret with improved electro-optics and fire-control system, as well as launchers for Kornet anti-tank missiles. The version of the Berezhok fitted to the LAAF’s BMP-2Ms had the reinforced shrouds around its electro-optics that were first seen in Russia in 2023. They also had an add-on armour package that looked identical to one fitted to a growing number of Russian BMP-2Ms seen in Ukraine and has been identified as the 675-sb3KDZ. Despite the large inventory of different armoured 4×4s the LAAF has previously displayed, only two types accounted for almost all the ones in the parade: the Spartak (also known as the VPK-Ural) and the Tigr, both of which are Russian designed. Last year’s parade featured 15 Spartaks in a double-cab pickup configuration but there were more than 120 in this year’s parade, most of them full-cab versions.

Image caption: Tigr and Spartak armoured vehicles lined up during the parade held at the new Military City south of Benghazi on 26 May 2025.
Image credit: Libyan Arab Armed Forces
© Libyan Arab Armed Forces

The LAAF could be the Middle Eastern customer that Alexander Krasovitsky, the CEO of Russia’s Military-Industrial Company, told RIA Novosti in February 2022 had placed a follow-on order for the VPK-Ural, with ongoing deliveries bringing its inventory up to more than 100 vehicles by that time. Krasovitsky added that a new pickup version of the vehicle with a more powerful foreign engine and transmission had been developed at the customer’s request.

While the LAAF is the only Arabian military force known to operate the Spartak, its vehicles were potentially produced in the UAE by the Streit Group, which has advertised the pickup version as the Condor SUT, although it is unclear if it has made any. The Nigerian company ProForce advertises a licence-produced version as the Hulk but is not known to have completed any.

This year’s parade included 80 Tigr-Ms, a type not previously seen in LAAF service, although this has also been advertised by Streit in the past as the Falcon. There was also at least one Akhmat, a Russian 6×6 armoured vehicle, and a single Russian Buran 4×4 armoured vehicle led the BM-30s and their ammunition vehicles.

The parade included three tracked armoured carriers that Janes identified as the 33GT-34039B, a development of the GAZ-34039 snow and swamp vehicle that was unveiled at Russia’s Army 2023 defence exhibition. The LAAF’s 33GT-34039Bs were unarmed and preceded a contingent of 2S1 self-propelled guns, suggesting they might be used as ammunition resupply vehicles.

Image caption: 33GT-34039B all-terrain tracked armoured carriers in the parade held at the new Military City south of Benghazi on 26 May 2025.
Image credit: Libyan Arab Armed Forces
© Libyan Arab Armed Forces

There were also three Ford pickups with the Russian Dzhigit system that supports two manportable air-defence systems (MANPADSs) to minimise operator fatigue and enable multiple launches. This is different from the Strelets system with the Igla-S MANPADS that was in service with the Ghadaffi-era Libyan military before it collapsed during the 2011 civil war. One of the Dzhigits in the parade appeared to be fitted with a Verba, Russia’s latest MANPADS.

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