The 2B9 Vasilek (2Б9 "Василёк" - Cornflower) is an automatic 82 mm gun-mortar developed in the Soviet Union in 1967 and fielded with the Soviet Army in 1970.

It was based on the F-82 automatic mortar. The 2B9 is a semiautomatic breechloader that makes use of 4-round clips or is loaded with individual rounds.^[2] Rounds can be loaded from either the muzzle or the breech. Because of its wheeled carriage, the 2B9 resembles a light artillery piece more than a conventional mortar.

The 2B9 was used in Afghanistan^[3] by Soviet units and is still found in Russian airmobile infantry units. In the fighting in Afghanistan, Soviet units found the 2B9 to be a versatile and useful weapon.^[4] The 2B9 can fire high-explosive, armor-piercing, smoke, and illumination rounds. The armor-piercing projectile, which weighs 3.1 kg (6.8 lb), has a 75 g (2.6 oz) warhead that can penetrate 100 mm (3.9 in) of armor.^[5] Upon blast, the high-explosive shell produces 400 to 600 fragments.

The 2B9 can be towed but is usually carried on a modified GAZ-66.^[6] By 1988, the 2B9 was also deployed as a self-propelled weapon by mounting the gun-mortar in the rear of an MT-LB armored personnel carrier.^[7]

During the Syrian Civil War, the 2B9M Vasilek was used by the Syrian Armed Forces, Kurdish People's Protection Units, and the Islamist group Ansar al-Sham. The latter used a 2B9M automatic mortar near Mount Chalma, Kesab district.^[8]

• 2B9 Vasilek – Basic model
  • 2B9M Vasilek – Modernised version introduced in 1982, and adopted in 1983.^[8]
• DE-82 - upgraded Hungarian version developed in 1987.^[6]
• Type W99 – 2B9 Vasilek produced in the People's Republic of China by Norinco.^[9]