The Arsenal

The Soviet-designed Kalashnikov assault rifle was the ubiquitous weapon of the Lebanese Civil War, carried by PLO fighters, Amal militiamen, Hezbollah operatives, Druze PSP fighters, and virtually every non-Maronite armed faction. Supplied through Soviet and Eastern Bloc channels via Syria, the AK-47 and its variants became so common in Lebanon that the black-market price dropped below $100 during the war. Its reputation for reliability in sandy, dirty, and wet conditions — and its ease of use by fighters with minimal training — made it the weapon of choice for militia forces across the conflict.

The American M16A1 was standard issue to the Lebanese Armed Forces and was also used by the Lebanese Forces and other Maronite militias who acquired weapons through Israeli channels or Lebanese army desertion. The US Marines deployed to Beirut in 1982-1984 carried M16s. The visual contrast between AK-47-toting PLO fighters and M16-carrying Lebanese Forces became a shorthand for the Cold War's proxy nature in Lebanese fighting.

The Soviet-designed RPG-7 was the most widely used anti-tank and anti-fortification weapon of the Lebanese Civil War, employed by virtually all factions. The PLO held massive stocks supplied through Soviet and Eastern Bloc channels. Its combination of lethal warhead, simple operation, and portability made it ideal for the urban warfare that characterized most Lebanese fighting. RPGs were used against tanks, buildings, vehicles, and personnel. Israeli Merkava tanks in the 1982 invasion proved largely resistant to RPG fire from the front but vulnerable from the flanks and rear, driving Israeli tactics toward infantry-armor coordination.

The Soviet BM-21 'Grad' multiple rocket launcher, firing 122mm unguided rockets known as Katyushas, was the PLO's primary strategic weapon for striking Israeli population centers from Lebanese territory. PLO units fired thousands of Katyusha rockets into northern Israeli cities including Nahariya, Kiryat Shmona, and Metulla throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s. The rockets were inaccurate but psychologically devastating, forcing entire communities into bomb shelters and driving Israeli political pressure for military action. The desire to stop Katyusha fire was the stated Israeli justification for both the 1978 and 1982 invasions.

The Merkava Mark I was Israel's indigenously designed main battle tank, making its combat debut in the 1982 Lebanese invasion. Designed with crew survivability as the primary consideration — placing the engine in the front to shield the crew — the Merkava was an unusual tank for its era. Its combat performance in Lebanon was mixed: it proved highly resistant to frontal hits, but its weight and size made it difficult to maneuver in Beirut's narrow streets. The tank's rear-loading door allowed it to serve as an armored personnel carrier in urban operations. Israeli losses included several Merkavas destroyed by RPG fire from ambushes in built-up areas.

The US-supplied F-16A Fighting Falcon was used by the Israeli Air Force to devastating effect throughout the 1982 invasion, including in the destruction of the Syrian Air Force — Israeli F-16s and F-15s shot down over 80 Syrian aircraft in the Bekaa Valley air battle of June 1982, possibly the largest air battle since the Korean War, without losing a single Israeli aircraft. The same aircraft conducted bombing raids on Beirut throughout the summer siege. F-16s also struck PLO bases in Sidon, Tyre, and the Bekaa Valley.

Lebanon in the early 1980s saw the weaponization of the commercial truck as a precision-delivered bomb — a tactical innovation of catastrophic global consequence. Hezbollah's Islamic Jihad Organization used massive truck bombs — typically a Mercedes truck loaded with thousands of pounds of enhanced explosive — against the US Marine headquarters (12,000 pounds, killing 241), the French paratroopers' headquarters (killing 58), the US Embassy (killing 63), and Israeli military headquarters in Tyre (killing 76). The concept was devastating in its simplicity: commercial vehicles were ubiquitous in Beirut, could carry enormous explosive payloads, and could penetrate vehicle checkpoints before detonating. The attacker needed only to drive into the target.

The M198 155mm howitzer was used by both the Israeli forces and the US Marines in Lebanon, and was characteristic of the heavy artillery deployed by multiple parties throughout the war. Artillery bombardment — from Israeli guns during the 1982 siege, Syrian guns throughout the war, and militia artillery on both sides — was the primary killer of civilians in Lebanese fighting. Urban artillery is inherently indiscriminate; shells falling in Beirut's dense neighborhoods killed civilians regardless of combatant positions.

Israel used American-supplied cluster bombs extensively during the 1982 invasion and siege of Beirut, dropping them on residential neighborhoods and PLO-controlled areas. Cluster bombs release hundreds of submunitions over a wide area; a significant percentage fail to detonate on impact and remain as de facto landmines. Israeli cluster bomb use in Lebanon drew strong protests from the Reagan administration and contributed to congressional pressure on arms sales. The munitions left vast areas of southern Lebanon contaminated with unexploded ordnance that continued killing and maiming Lebanese civilians for decades after the fighting ended.