Thai forces successfully captured Hill 500, uncovering a large cache of Chinese weapons. They were shocked to find high-performance heavy arms, including various models of anti-tank and bunker rocket launchers and assorted ammunition. This followed the previous day’s seizure of the Chinese-made fifth-generation GAM-102LR guided anti-tank missiles from Cambodian troops.
Progress on the Thai-Cambodian border situation: On 16 Dec 2025 GMT+7, reporters reported that shortly after midnight on 15 Dec 2025 GMT+7, the Facebook page “Army Military Force” posted that "This evening (15 Dec), Thai soldiers from the 17th Regiment, 2nd Battalion seized a large quantity of Chinese-made weapons from Cambodian soldiers on Hill 500 after successfully recapturing the area. Items included 82 mm grenade launchers compatible with the Chinese Type 65 recoilless grenade launcher and various types of ammunition."
The portable, unguided anti-tank rocket launcher Norinco PF-89, caliber 80 mm, is produced by Norinco Company of China. It serves as an anti-tank and anti-bunker rocket launcher with an effective range of 200 meters and a maximum range of 400 meters.
The Norinco PF-89 is a lightweight infantry weapon weighing 3.7 kilograms, designed for single-use firing and disposal.
The PF-89 anti-tank rocket uses warheads tailored to different targets. The basic models, PF-89 and PF-89A, primarily use HEAT warheads that generate a high-energy jet to penetrate light to medium vehicle armor. The PF-89B variant is designed to combat modern tanks equipped with special defenses like explosive reactive armor (ERA); it employs a tandem shaped-charge HEAT warhead with a small precursor charge to destroy ERA before the main charge penetrates the actual armor.
In addition to armored vehicle warheads, there are warheads designed to destroy targets inside buildings or personnel in cover, such as the WPF-89-1 and WPF-89-2 models. These create wide-area blast waves and high pressure, making them highly effective in enclosed spaces. One day earlier, Thai military personnel seized a Chinese-made fifth-generation guided anti-tank missile system, the GAM-102LR, from Cambodian troops.