Lancer firing S-5 rockets.
Afghanistan S-5 rockets were used extensively by
Sukhoi Su-25 and
Mil Mi-24 aircraft in
Afghanistan in the 1980s, where their effectiveness was considered poor. Pilots described the rockets fanning out after launch "like a tulip", and that the warhead was only good for "tickling the ''dookhi's'' (mujahedeen) heels". The Russian forces have shifted to higher-calibre weapons like the
S-8 rocket instead. In addition the Soviet
40th Army made use of improvised launchers mounted on
T-62 tanks,
BTR-70 APCs and
Ural-4320 trucks in a ground-to-ground role.
Chechnya S-5 and
S-8 rockets were used in the
First Chechen War and the
Second Chechen War. These rockets were then salvaged by Chechen fighters to be used as anti-tank rocket launcher in their “Shaitan” homemade weapons. Such weapons were unpredictable, as some were made from gear shafts of Russian trucks. Also such rockets were damaged during their capture. These rockets were taken from downed Mil-24 helicopters.
India During the
1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, four of the
Indian Air Force's
MiG-21FLs led by Wing Commander Bhupendra Kumar Bishnoi fired its S-5 rockets on the
East Pakistani Governor's mansion in
Dhaka, leading to the governor resigning immediately thereafter the attack. On 13 December, an IAF MiG-21 shot down a Pakistani
F-104 Starfighter from its
Ub-16 rocket pods, which fired its S-5 rockets.
Israel On Sunday, 6 January 2009, The Israel Defense Forces claimed they identified a rocket fired at Israel earlier in the day by Al-Qassam Brigades in the Gaza Strip as a Russian-made S5K. According to the IDF, the rocket fired at Kibbutz Alumim in the
Negev marked the first time
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades have used this type of weapon. Although the weapon is intended to be launched aerially, Al-Qassam forces chose to launch their rocket from ground-based launchers. Unlike a
Qassam rocket, the S5K contains more explosives, but is less precise.
Libya The S-5, along with
S-8 and
S-13 rockets, has been deployed from the backs of pick-up trucks (generally,
technicals) during the
2011 Libyan civil war, serving as a makeshift
MLRS. UB-16 and UB-32 pods were used in this role. The rebels have also developed a man-portable launcher for the S-5, turning the rocket into a makeshift
RPG round.
Syria The S-5 has seen use by the
Syrian Air Force against opposition forces in the
Syrian civil war. It has also been used as an improvised ground-launched rocket, fired from UB-16 or UB-32 pods.
Ukraine The 57mm rockets were used during
Russian invasion of Ukraine as improvised ground-launched MLRS (multiple launch rocket system) by the Ukrainians. On 18 June 2023, a Russian
BTR-80 APC that had two UB-32 rocket pods attached to it was sighted and damaged by
loitering drones. ==Launcher characteristics==