1.
Iraq War
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The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces. An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3–4 years of conflict and it became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition, the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue. The invasion began on 20 March 2003, with the U. S. joined by the United Kingdom and several allies, launching a shock. Iraqi forces were overwhelmed as U. S. forces swept through the country. The invasion led to the collapse of the Baathist government, President Hussein was captured during Operation Red Dawn in December of that same year, the United States responded with a troop surge in 2007. The winding down of U. S. involvement in Iraq accelerated under President Barack Obama, the U. S. formally withdrew all combat troops from Iraq by December 2011. Select U. S. officials accused Saddam of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, while others cited the desire to end a repressive dictatorship, after the invasion, no substantial evidence was found to verify the initial claims about WMDs. The rationale and misrepresentation of pre-war intelligence faced heavy criticism within the U. S. in the aftermath of the invasion, Iraq held multi-party elections in 2005. Nouri al-Maliki became Prime Minister in 2006 and remained in office until 2014, the al-Maliki government enacted policies that were widely seen as having the effect of alienating the countrys Sunni minority and worsening sectarian tensions. The Iraq War caused hundreds of thousands of civilian, and thousands of military casualties, the majority of casualties occurred as a result of the insurgency and civil conflicts between 2004 and 2007. A1990 Frontline report on The arming of Iraq said, Officially, most Western nations participated in an arms embargo against Iraq during the 1980s. Western companies, primarily in Germany and Great Britain, but also in the United States, sold Iraq the key technology for its chemical, missile, any Western governments seemed remarkably indifferent, if not enthusiastic, about those deals. N Washington, the government consistently followed a policy which allowed and perhaps encouraged the growth of Saddam Husseins arsenal. The Western arming of Iraq took place in the context of the Iran-Iraq War, prior to September 2002, the CIA was the George W. Bush administrations main provider of intelligence on Iraq. The agency was out to disprove linkage between Iraq and terrorism the Pentagon adviser told me, the U. N. had prohibited Iraq from developing or possessing such weapons after the Gulf War and required Iraq to permit inspections confirming compliance. This was confirmed by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, during 2002, Bush repeatedly warned of military action against Iraq unless inspections were allowed to progress unfettered. In accordance with U. N. Security Council Resolution 1441, Iraq agreed to new inspections under United Nations Monitoring, as part of its weapons inspection obligations, Iraq was required to supply a full declaration of its current weapons capabilities and manufacturing
2.
Infantry fighting vehicle
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An infantry fighting vehicle, or mechanized infantry combat vehicle, is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire support. Infantry fighting vehicles are distinct from armoured personnel carriers, which are transport vehicles armed only for self-defense, consequently, IFVs possess heavier armament than an APC, and the attached rifle squad fights from within the vehicle more often than in an APC. IFVs also often have improved armour and some have ports which allow the infantry to fire personal weapons while on board and they are typically armed with a 20 to 40 mm caliber autocannon, a coaxial machine gun and sometimes anti-tank guided missiles. IFVs are usually tracked, but there are some wheeled vehicles too, IFVs are much less heavily armed and protected than main battle tanks, but when equipped with larger cannon or ATGMs may pose a significant threat to all but the heaviest armoured fighting vehicles. The first mass-produced IFV was the West German Schützenpanzer 12-3 which served in the Bundeswehr from 1958 until the early 1980s, the SPz 12-3 mounted a 20 mm autocannon in a small turret and carried a half-squad of five armoured infantrymen. Western powers were surprised when the Soviet Union paraded the BMP-1, Soviet infantrymen could thus enter a hypothetical engagement in a vehicle that possessed formidable fighting capability in its own right. This brought combined arms integration to the lowest tactical level, in 1971, the Ratel was designed to a South African specification for a wheeled combat vehicle suited to the demands of a high-speed offensive that combined maximum mobility and firepower. The emphasis was on mobility in particular, as it had to keep pace with a rapid mechanised advance, South Africas motorised units had carried out prior deployments on unprotected Bedford MK and Unimog trucks, but these were deemed unsuitable for the harsh African terrain. They also offered few advantages in mine protection, while the Ratels blastproof hull was developed to even the most catastrophic anti-tank mine explosions. During the South African Border War, Ratels equipped with a 90 mm gun adopted from the Eland-90 were utilised as improvised tank destroyers to varying degrees of success. In most Western IFVs, the large guns on the BMP. While the former enjoyed a tank-killing capability that most autocannon lack, combat applications in close-combat environments are likely to drive up survivability requirements necessitating the same protection level required by most tanks. In times of warfare, local crises, and urban combat. The IFV offers a compromise between mobility, protection, and firepower. They can be used in high and low intensity conflicts as well as peacekeeping operations, the latest vehicles, like the Patria AMV, have been designed with an emphasis on modularity that improves their ability to be repaired in the field. Infantry fighting vehicles are typically well armoured, although usually with less protection than main battle tanks, typical armament is an autocannon and machine guns. IFVs have a door for dismounts, most IFVs are resistant against heavy machine guns, artillery fragments, and small arms. The IFVs mission does not include anti-tank duties except in support of units or in emergencies, therefore
3.
Bradley Fighting Vehicle
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The Bradley Fighting Vehicle is an American fighting vehicle platform manufactured by BAE Systems Land and Armaments, formerly United Defense. The Bradley is designed to transport infantry or scouts with armor protection, while providing covering fire to enemy troops. There are several Bradley variants, including the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, the M2 holds a crew of three along with six fully equipped soldiers. The M3 mainly conducts scout missions and carries two scouts in addition to the crew of three, with space for additional TOW missiles. The Red River Army Depot in Texarkana, Texas is the Center of Industrial Technical Excellence for the maintenance, the Bradley was developed largely in response to the Soviet BMP family of infantry fighting vehicles, and to serve as both an armored personnel carrier, and a tank-killer. One specific design requirement was that it should be as fast as the then new M1 Abrams main battle tank so that they could maintain formations while moving. The M2/M3s primary armament is a 25 mm cannon that fires up to 200 rounds per minute and is accurate up to 3000 m and it is also armed with a TOW missile launcher that is capable of carrying two loaded missiles. The missiles, capable of destroying most tanks to a range of 4,000 metres. The Bradley also carries a coaxial 7.62 mm medium machine gun, the Bradley is equipped with the M24225 mm chain gun as its main weapon. The M242 has a barrel with an integrated dual-feed mechanism. The gun has 300 rounds of ammunition in two boxes, with an extra 600 rounds in storage or 1200 stowed rounds. The two ready boxes allow a mix of rounds, such as the M791 APDS-T and M792 HEI-T rounds. The tungsten APDS-T rounds proved highly effective in Desert Storm, being capable of knocking out many Iraqi vehicles including several kills on T-55 tanks, there have even been reports of kills against Iraqi T-72 tanks at close range. Subsequent ammunition developments resulted in the M919 APFSDS-T round, which contains a finned depleted uranium penetrator similar in concept to armor-piercing munitions used in modern tanks, the M919 was used in combat during the 2003 invasion phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. It is also armed with an M240C machine gun mounted coaxially to the M242, for engaging heavier targets, the Bradley has a TOW missile system on board, which was changed to fire TOW II missile from the M2A1 model onwards. Initial variants had six ports, but the ones were plated over with the new armor configuration on the A2 and A3 variants. The use of armor and the storage of large quantities of ammunition in the vehicle initially raised questions about its combat survivability. Spaced laminate belts and high hardness steel skirts have been added to improve the protection of later versions
4.
Gulf War
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The Iraqi Armys occupation of Kuwait that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. US President George H. W. Bush deployed US forces into Saudi Arabia, an array of nations joined the coalition, the largest military alliance since World War II. The great majority of the military forces were from the US, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia paid around US$32 billion of the US$60 billion cost, the war was marked by the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the US network CNN. The war has also earned the nickname Video Game War after the daily broadcast of images from cameras on board US bombers during Operation Desert Storm. The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on 17 January 1991 and this was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait. The coalition ceased its advance, and declared a ceasefire 100 hours after the campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel. The following names have been used to describe the conflict itself, Gulf War, a problem with these terms is that the usage is ambiguous, having now been applied to at least three conflicts, see Gulf War. The use of the term Persian Gulf is also disputed, see Persian Gulf naming dispute, with no consensus of naming, various publications have attempted to refine the name. Other language terms include French, la Guerre du Golfe and German, Golfkrieg, German, Zweiter Golfkrieg, French, most of the coalition states used various names for their operations and the wars operational phases. Operation Desert Storm was the US name of the conflict from 17 January 1991. Operation Desert Sabre was the US name for the offensive against the Iraqi Army in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations from 24–28 February 1991, in itself. Operation Desert Farewell was the given to the return of US units and equipment to the US in 1991 after Kuwaits liberation. Operation Granby was the British name for British military activities during the operations, Opération Daguet was the French name for French military activities in the conflict. Operation Friction was the name of the Canadian operations Operazione Locusta was the Italian name for the operations, in addition, various phases of each operation may have a unique operational name. The US divided the conflict into three campaigns, Defense of Saudi Arabian country for the period 2 August 1990, through 16 January 1991
5.
Vehicle armour
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Military vehicles are commonly armoured to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, missiles or shells, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include armoured fighting vehicles like tanks, aircraft and ships, civilian vehicles may also be armoured. These vehicles include cars used by reporters, officials and others in conflict zones or where violent crime is common, armoured cars are also routinely used by security firms to carry money or valuables to reduce the risk of highway robbery or the hijacking of the cargo. Armour may also be used in vehicles to protect from other than a deliberate attack. Some spacecraft are equipped with specialised armour to protect them against impacts from micrometeoroids or fragments of space junk, the design and purpose of the vehicle determines the amount of armour plating carried, as the plating is often very heavy and excessive amounts of armour restrict mobility. In order to decrease this problem, some new materials and material compositions are being researched which include buckypaper, rolled homogeneous armour is strong, hard, and tough. Steel with these characteristics is produced by processing cast steel billets of appropriate size, rolling and forging irons out the grain structure in the steel, removing imperfections which would reduce the strength of the steel. Aluminium is used when weight is a necessity. It is most commonly used on APCs and armoured cars, wrought iron was used on ironclad warships. Early European iron armour consisted of 10 to 13 cm of wrought iron backed by up to one meter of solid wood, titanium is roughly the weight of aluminium, but as strong as iron. So despite being rather expensive, it finds an application in areas where weight is a concern, such as personal armour, because of its high density, depleted uranium can also be used in tank armour, sandwiched between sheets of steel armour plate. Plastic metal was a type of vehicle armour originally developed for merchant ships by the British Admiralty in 1940, the original composition was described as 50% clean granite of half-inch size, 43% of limestone mineral, and 7% of bitumen. It was typically applied in a two inches thick and backed by half an inch of steel. Plastic armour could be applied by pouring it into a cavity formed by the backing plate. Bulletproof glass is a term for glass that is particularly resistant to being penetrated when struck by bullets. The industry generally refers to it as bullet-resistant glass or transparent armour, bullet-resistant glass is usually constructed using a strong but transparent material such as polycarbonate thermoplastic or by using layers of laminated glass. The desired result is a material with the appearance and light-transmitting behaviour of standard glass, the polycarbonate layer, usually consisting of products such as Armormax, Makroclear, Cyrolon, Lexan or Tuffak, is often sandwiched between layers of regular glass. The use of plastic in the laminate provides impact-resistance, such as physical assault with a hammer, the plastic provides little in the way of bullet-resistance
6.
Lamination
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A laminate is a permanently assembled object by heat, pressure, welding, or adhesives. There are different lamination processes, depending on the type of materials to be laminated, the materials used in laminates can be the same or different, depending on the processes and the object to be laminated. An example of the type of laminate using different materials would be the application of a layer of plastic film—the laminate—on either side of a sheet of glass—the laminated subject, vehicle windshields are commonly made by laminating a tough plastic film between two layers of glass. This is to prevent shards of glass detaching from the windshield in case it breaks, plywood is a common example of a laminate using the same material in each layer. Glued and laminated dimensioned timber is used in the industry to make wooden beams, Glulam. Another reason to laminate wooden strips into beams is quality control, as with this method each, examples of laminate materials include melamine adhesive countertop surfacing and plywood. A new type of HPDL is produced using wood veneer or multilaminar veneer as top surface. High-pressure laminates consists of laminates molded and cured at pressures not lower than 1,000 lb per sq in. meanwhile, low pressure laminate is defined as a plastic laminate molded and cured at pressures in general of 400 pounds per square inch. Corrugated fiberboard boxes are examples of laminated structures, where an inner core provides rigidity and strength, and the outer layers provide a smooth surface. Laminating paper products, such as photographs, can prevent them from becoming creased, faded, water damaged, wrinkled, stained, smudged, abraded, photo identification cards and credit cards are almost always laminated with plastic film. Boxes and other containers are also laminated using a UV coating, lamination is also used in sculpture using wood or resin. An example of an artist who used lamination in his work is the American Floyd Shaman, further, laminates can be used to add properties to a surface, usually printed paper, that would not have them otherwise. Sheets of vinyl impregnated with ferro-magnetic material can allow portable printed images to bond to magnets, specially surfaced plastic sheets can be laminated over a printed image to allow them to be safely written upon, such as with dry erase markers or chalk. Multiple translucent printed images may be laminated in layers to achieve certain visual effects or to hold holographic images, many printing businesses that do commercial lamination keep a variety of laminates on hand, as the process for bonding many types is generally similar when working with arbitrarily thin material
7.
Rocket-propelled grenade
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A rocket-propelled grenade is a shoulder-fired, anti-tank weapon system that fires rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. These warheads are affixed to a motor and stabilized in flight with fins. Some types of RPG are reloadable, while others are single-use, RPGs, with some exceptions, are generally loaded from the muzzle. RPGs with high explosive warheads are very effective against armored vehicles such as armoured personnel carriers. However, heavily armored vehicles, such as main battle tanks, are too well armored to be penetrated by an RPG. Various warheads are also capable of causing damage to vulnerable systems. The RPG has its roots in the 20th century with the development of the explosive shaped charge. Before the adoption of the charge, anti-tank guns and tank guns relied primarily on kinetic energy to defeat armor. Armies found that they needed to give infantry the means to defeat enemy armor when no anti-tank guns were available, initial attempts to put such weapons in the hands of the infantry resulted in weapons like the Soviet RPG-40 blast effect hand grenade. What was needed was a means of delivering the shaped charge warhead from a distance, different approaches to this goal would lead to the anti-tank spigot mortar, the recoilless rifle and, from the development of practical rocketry, the rocket propelled grenade. Research occasioned by World War II produced such weapons as the American Bazooka and German Panzerfaust, the Soviet-developed RPG-7 is the most widely distributed, recognizable and used RPG in the world. In the 2000s, they were still being used widely in conflict areas such as Chechnya, Iraq, the RPG has a design that is comparable to a shaped charge explosive. A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosives energy, various types are used to penetrate tank armour. A typical modern lined shaped charge can penetrate armor to a depth of seven or more times the diameter of the charge, though greater depths of 10 CD. An RPG comprises two parts, the launcher and a rocket equipped with a warhead. The most common types of warheads are high explosive and high explosive anti-tank rounds and these warheads are affixed to a rocket motor and stabilized in flight with fins. Some types of RPG are single-use disposable units, such as the RPG-22 and M72 LAW, others are reloadable, such as the Soviet RPG-7, the launcher is designed so that the rocket exits the launcher without discharging an exhaust that would be dangerous to the operator. In the case of the RPG-7, the rocket is launched by a booster charge
8.
Aluminium alloy
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Aluminium alloys are alloys in which aluminium is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, there are two principal classifications, namely casting alloys and wrought alloys, both of which are further subdivided into the categories heat-treatable and non-heat-treatable. About 85% of aluminium is used for products, for example rolled plate, foils. Cast aluminium alloys yield cost-effective products due to the low melting point, the most important cast aluminium alloy system is Al–Si, where the high levels of silicon contribute to give good casting characteristics. Aluminium alloys are used in engineering structures and components where light weight or corrosion resistance is required. Alloys composed mostly of aluminium have been important in aerospace manufacturing since the introduction of metal-skinned aircraft. Aluminium-magnesium alloys are both lighter than aluminium alloys and much less flammable than alloys that contain a very high percentage of magnesium. Aluminium alloy surfaces will develop a white, protective layer of aluminium oxide if left unprotected by anodizing and/or correct painting procedures, referred to as dissimilar-metal corrosion, this process can occur as exfoliation or as intergranular corrosion. Aluminium alloys can be heat treated. This causes internal element separation, and the metal then corrodes from the inside out, Aluminium alloy compositions are registered with The Aluminum Association. Aluminium alloys with a range of properties are used in engineering structures. Alloy systems are classified by a system or by names indicating their main alloying constituents. Selecting the right alloy for a given application entails considerations of its strength, density, ductility, formability, workability, weldability. A brief historical overview of alloys and manufacturing technologies is given in Ref. Aluminium alloys are used extensively in aircraft due to their high strength-to-weight ratio. On the other hand, pure aluminium metal is too soft for such uses. Aluminium alloys typically have an elastic modulus of about 70 GPa, therefore, for a given load, a component or unit made of an aluminium alloy will experience a greater deformation in the elastic regime than a steel part of identical size and shape. Though there are aluminium alloys with somewhat-higher tensile strengths than the commonly used kinds of steel, with completely new metal products, the design choices are often governed by the choice of manufacturing technology. Extrusions are particularly important in regard, owing to the ease with which aluminium alloys, particularly the Al–Mg–Si series
9.
Reactive armour
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Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour that reacts in some way to the impact of a weapon to reduce the damage done to the vehicle being protected. It is most effective in protecting against shaped charges and specially hardened kinetic energy penetrators, NERA and NxRA modules can withstand multiple hits, unlike ERA and SLERA, but a second hit in exactly the same location will still penetrate any of those. Essentially all anti-tank munitions work by piercing the armour and killing the crew inside, disabling vital mechanical systems, reactive armour can be defeated with multiple hits in the same place, as by tandem-charge weapons, which fire two or more shaped charges in rapid succession. Without tandem charges, hitting the same spot twice is much more difficult, the idea of counterexplosion in armour was first proposed by the Scientific Research Institute of Steel in 1949 in the USSR by academician Bogdan Vjacheslavovich Voitsekhovsky. The first pre-production models were produced during the 1960s, however, insufficient theoretical analysis during one of the tests resulted in all of the prototype elements being blown up. For a number of reasons, including the accident, as well as a belief that Soviet tanks had sufficient armour, no more research was conducted until 1974 when the Ministry of the Defensive Industry announced a contest to find the best tank protection project. A West German researcher, Manfred Held carried out work with the IDF in 1967–69. Reactive armour created on the basis of the joint research was first installed on Israeli tanks during the 1982 Lebanon war and was judged very effective. An element of explosive reactive armour consists of a sheet or slab of high explosive sandwiched between two plates, typically metal, called the reactive or dynamic elements, on attack by a penetrating weapon, the explosive detonates, forcibly driving the metal plates apart to damage the penetrator. Against a shaped charge, the projected plates disrupt the metallic jet penetrator, against a kinetic energy penetrator, the projected plates serve to deflect and break up the rod. The disruption is attributed to two mechanisms and this second effect significantly increases the effective plate thickness during the impact. To be effective against kinetic energy projectiles, ERA must use much thicker and heavier plates, such heavy ERA, such as the Soviet-developed Kontakt-5, can break apart a penetrating rod that is longer than the ERA is deep, again significantly reducing penetration capability. An important aspect of ERA is the brisance, or detonation speed of its explosive element, a more brisant explosive and greater plate velocity will result in more plate material being fed into the path of the oncoming jet, greatly increasing the plates effective thickness. This effect is pronounced in the rear plate receding away from the jet. ERA also counters explosively forged projectiles, as produced by a shaped charge, the counter-explosion must disrupt the incoming projectile so that its momentum is distributed in all directions rather than towards the target, greatly diminishing its effectiveness. The U. S. Army uses reactive armour on its Abrams tanks as part of the TUSK package and on Bradley vehicles and the Israelis use it frequently on their American built M60 tanks. ERA tiles are used as add-on armour to the portions of a fighting vehicle that are most likely to be hit, typically the front of the hull. Their use requires that a vehicle be fairly heavily armoured to protect itself, the explosion of an ERA plate creates a significant amount of shrapnel, and bystanders are in grave danger of fatal injury
10.
M242 Bushmaster
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The M242 Bushmaster is a 25 mm chain-driven autocannon. It is used extensively by the U. S. military, as well as by NATOs and some other forces in ground combat vehicles, such as the Bradley fighting vehicle. Originally the weapon was designed and manufactured by Hughes Ordnance in Culver City, CA and it is an externally powered, chain-driven, single-barrel weapon which may be fired in semi-automatic, burst, or automatic modes. It is fed by a metallic link belt and has dual-feed capability, the term chain gun derives from the use of a roller chain that drives the bolt back and forth. The gun can destroy lightly armored vehicles and aerial targets and it can also suppress enemy positions such as exposed troops, dug-in positions, and occupied built-up areas. The standard rate of fire is 200 rounds per minute, the weapon has an effective range of 3,000 metres, depending on the type of ammunition used. With over 10,000 units sold worldwide, it is one of the most successful modern autocannons, the Bushmaster project started as an offshoot of the US Armys MICV-65 program that was attempting to introduce a new infantry fighting vehicle to replace their existing M113s. Part of this called for a new scout vehicle to replace the M114. Both the XM800 and the version of the XM701 MICV vehicles were armed with the M139. During the testing phase, the Army eventually rejected the XM701, soon after the XM800 was also rejected. This led to the combination of the two programs, moving the role to the cavalry version of the XM723. This was essentially a power-driven gun firing similar 20mm ammunition as the HS.820, progress on the VRFWS-S was slow, and eventually resulted in a switch to a much more powerful 25 mm round. Since 1990, there have been several enhancements made upon the weapon, to date, more than 10,500 weapons are in service. One of the reasons for this popularity is the extremely reliable nature of the weapon. It has a rating of 22,000 mean rounds between failure, much higher than comparable devices. Unlike most automatic firearms, the M242 does not depend on gas or recoil to actuate its firing system, instead, it uses a 1 hp DC motor, positioned in the receiver to drive the chain and dual-feed system. This system uses sprockets and extractor grooves to feed, load, fire, extract, a system of clutches provides for an alternate sprocket to engage and thus allows the gunner to switch between armor-piercing and high-explosive rounds. The weapon assembly consists of three parts, the assembly, the feeder assembly, and the receiver assembly
11.
Chain gun
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Chain gun is a registered trademark of Orbital ATK for externally-powered machine guns. Reliability and controllability are the advantages of chain-driven weapons over their recoil-actuated counterparts, one link of the chain is connected to the bolt assembly, moving it back and forth to load, fire, extract, and eject cartridges. A misfired round does not stop the functioning of the weapon, as it might with guns that use energy from a cartridge to load the next round. During each full cycle of four periods, two periods control the time that the bolt takes to drive forward and load a round into the chamber, and how quickly it extracts it. For example, the 7. 62mm NATO version EX-34 was advertised to offer 570 rounds per minute, in practice, chain guns usually have two or three set firing speeds. The chain gun operating principle is inherently reliable and it is significant that during firing of 101,343 rounds not one jam or stoppage occurred due to loss of round control in the gun or feeder mechanism. Is in our experience very unusual in any weapon of any caliber or type, a commonly used chain gun is the M242 Bushmaster. Versions of its 25 mm action are found on ships and infantry fighting vehicles around the world. Others are the 30 mm M230 cannon, which is standard equipment on the AH-64 Apache helicopter, as well as the Bushmaster II30 mm, and the Bushmaster III 35/50 mm chain gun. A7. 62×51mm NATO caliber chain gun is used on armored vehicles as a coaxial machine gun. A developmental version of this gun was named EX-34 and it is in use as the L94A1 chain gun with the British Army. A chain gun has a barrel, while a Gatling gun/Minigun has several rotating barrels. Polybolos, a similar ancient derivative of the ballista U. S. Army Field Manual 3-22.1 Alliant Techsystems Inc
12.
BGM-71 TOW
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The BGM-71 TOW is an American anti-tank missile. TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the SS, first produced in 1970, the TOW is one of the most widely used anti-tank guided missiles. It can be found in a variety of manually carried and vehicle mounted forms. Originally designed by Hughes Aircraft in the 1960s, the weapon is produced by Raytheon. Initially developed by Hughes Aircraft between 1963 and 1968, the XBGM-71A was designed for ground and heli-borne applications. In 1997, Raytheon Co. purchased Hughes Electronics from General Motors Corporation, so development, the weapon is used in anti-armor, anti-bunker, anti-fortification and anti-amphibious landing roles. The TOW is in service with over 45 militaries and is integrated on over 15,000 ground, vehicle, in its basic infantry form, the system comprises a missile in a sealed tube which is clipped to a launch tube prior to use. When required, the tube is attached to the rear of the launch tube, the target sighted. The 1983 TOW2 featured a larger 5.9 kg warhead with a 21.25 in extensible probe, improved guidance and this was followed by the TOW 2A/B which appeared in 1987. Hughes developed a TOW missile with a data link in 1989, referred to as TOW-2N. Raytheon continued to develop improvements to the TOW line, but its FOTT program was canceled in 1998, although this missile has been in production since 2004, no U. S. Army designation has yet been assigned. Also, a version of the TOW-2B Aero was developed that uses stealth one way radio link. The TOW missile in its current variations is not a fire-and-forget weapon and this means that the guidance system is directly linked to the platform, and requires that the target be kept in the shooters line of sight until the missile impacts. This has been the impetus to develop either a fire-and-forget version of the system or to develop a successor with this ability. In October 2012, Raytheon received a contract to produce 6,676 TOW missiles for the U. S. military, Missiles that will be produced include the BGM-71E TOW 2A, the BGM-71F TOW 2B, the TOW 2B Aero, and the BGM-71H TOW Bunker Buster. By 2013, the U. S. Marine Corps had retired the air-launched TOW missile, the TOW is designated as a BGM by the U. S. military, a multiple launch environment surface attack guided missile. The B launch environment prefix is used only when the system can be used essentially unmodified when launched from a variety of launch platforms. The M151 and M220 launchers are used by infantry, but can also be mounted on a number of vehicles, including the M151 jeep, the M113 Gavin APC, the M966 HMMWV and these launchers are theoretically man-portable, but are quite bulky
13.
Anti-tank missile
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An anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided missile, anti-tank guided weapon or anti-armor guided weapon, is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. Germany developed a design for a wire-guided anti tank missile derived from the Ruhrstahl X-4 air to air missile concept in the months of World War II. Reliable information for this weapon is elusive and it was never used in combat and allegedly had serious guidance to target issues. The SS.10 is the first anti-tank missile widely used and it entered service in the French Army in 1955. It was also the first anti-tank missile used by the US Army, the Malkara missile was one of the earliest anti-tank guided missiles. It was jointly developed by Australia and the United Kingdom between 1951 and 1954, and was in service from 1958 until gradually replaced by the Vickers Vigilant missile in the late 1960s. It was intended to be enough to deploy with airborne forces. First-generation manually command guided MCLOS missiles require input from an operator using a joystick or similar device to steer the missile to the target, the disadvantage is that the operator must keep the sights cross hairs on the target and then steer the missile into the cross hairs—i. e. To do this, the operator must be trained and must remain stationary. Because of this, the operator is vulnerable while guiding the missile, the first system to become operational and to see combat was the French Nord SS.10 during the early 1950s. Second-generation semi-automatically command guided SACLOS missiles require the operator to keep the sights on the target until impact. Automatic guidance commands are sent to the missile through wires or radio, examples are the Russian 9M133 Kornet, Israeli LAHAT and the American Hellfire I missiles. Again, the operator must remain stationary during the missiles flight, third-generation guidance systems rely on a laser, electro-optical imager seeker or a W band radar seeker in the nose of the missile. Once the target is identified, the missile needs no further guidance during flight, it is fire-and-forget, however, fire-and-forget missiles are more subject to electronic countermeasures than MCLOS and SACLOS missiles. Examples include the German PARS3 LR, Spike and the Indian Nag, most modern ATGMs have shaped charge high explosive warheads, designed specifically for penetrating armor. Tandem-charge missiles attempt to defeat ERA protected armor, the small initial charge sets off the ERA while the follow-up main charge attempts to penetrate the main armor. Top-attack weapons such as the Indian Nag, American Javelin and the Swedish Bill are designed to strike vehicles from above, both come with the downside of significant weight and bulk. However, inclusion of armor in older vehicles as a part of re-design is possible
14.
Coaxial
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In geometry, coaxial means that two or more three-dimensional linear forms share a common axis. Thus, it is concentric in three-dimensional, linear forms, a coaxial cable, as a common example, is a three-dimensional linear structure. It has a conductor in the centre, a circumferential outer conductor. The outer conductor is usually sheathed in a protective PVC outer jacket, all these have a common axis. The dimension and material of the conductors and insulation determine the characteristic impedance. In loudspeaker design, coaxial speakers are a system in which the individual driver units radiate sound from the same point or axis
15.
M240 machine gun
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The M240, officially Machine Gun,7. 62mm, M240, is the US military designation for the FN MAG, a family of belt-fed, gas-operated medium machine guns firing the 7. 62×51mm NATO cartridge. The M240 has been used by the United States Armed Forces since the late-1970s and it is used extensively by infantry, most often rifle companies as well as ground vehicles, watercraft and aircraft. Despite being heavier than weapons, it is highly regarded for reliability. All variants are fed from disintegrating belts, and are capable of firing most types of 7.62 mm NATO ammunition, M240 variants can use non-disintegrating belts. There are significant differences in weight and some features among some versions which restrict interchangeability of parts, the M240s used by the US military are currently manufactured by FN Manufacturing, a US-based branch of FN Herstal. Manufactured by Fabrique Nationale, the FN MAG was chosen by the U. S. military for different roles after large world-wide searches, the MAG is a belt-fed, gas-operated, air-cooled, crew-served, fixed headspace weapon. Its versatility is demonstrated by its ability to be mounted on the M122A1 tripod and it was first adopted by the U. S. Army in 1977, as a coaxial tank gun, and slowly adopted for more applications in the 1980s and 1990s. The M240 and M240E1 were adopted for use on vehicles and this led to further adoption in more uses, especially for the Army and Marine infantry. While possessing many of the basic characteristics as its predecessor. The MAG actually has a more complex gas system than the M60, compared to other machine guns, its rating of 26,000 mean rounds between failure is quite high for its weight—in the 1970s when it was first adopted it achieved about 7,000 MRBF. It is not as reliable as some very heavy older designs and it would go on to be deployed in this role in the 1980s, but was additionally adopted for infantry and other uses. It was deployed in new roles in the 1990s and 2000s. As mentioned, during the 1970s the Army was looking for new 7.62 mm machine guns for vehicle/AFV mounts, the 1950s-era M73 had been rather troubled, and the derivative M73E1/M219 was not much of an improvement. A number of designs of the period from various countries were considered and they underwent comprehensive testing alongside the older M219 for comparison. Two main criteria analyzed were mean rounds between stoppages and mean rounds between failures, the results for the evaluated machine guns were the following, The test applies only to the 1970s-era versions tested. The MAG itself underwent some improvements and the M60E2 was a specialized coaxial variant that differed from some of the other types, the qualities of the M60 variants vary considerably, such as between the M60E4 and the M60C. That aside, for these types the clear winner was the MAG and it went on to replace many older types for the vehicle/coaxial role in the 1980s. The M240 proved popular enough that it was adapted by the later on, spawning the M240B
16.
Machine gun
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A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm designed to fire bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or magazine, typically at a rate of 300 to 1800 rounds per minute. Note that not all fully automatic firearms are machine guns, submachine guns, rifles, assault rifles, shotguns, pistols or cannons may be capable of fully automatic fire, but are not designed for sustained fire. Many machine guns also use belt feeding and open bolt operation, unlike semi-automatic firearms, which require one trigger pull per round fired, a machine gun is designed to fire for as long as the trigger is held down. Nowadays the term is restricted to heavy weapons, able to provide continuous or frequent bursts of automatic fire for as long as ammunition lasts. Machine guns are used against personnel, aircraft and light vehicles, or to provide suppressive fire. Some machine guns have in practice sustained fire almost continuously for hours, because they become very hot, practically all machine guns fire from an open bolt, to permit air cooling from the breech between bursts. They also usually have either a barrel cooling system, slow-heating heavyweight barrel, although subdivided into light, medium, heavy or general-purpose, even the lightest machine guns tend to be substantially larger and heavier than standard infantry arms. Medium and heavy guns are either mounted on a tripod or on a vehicle, when carried on foot. Medium machine guns use full-sized rifle rounds and are designed to be used from fixed positions mounted on a tripod. 50in, the M249 automatic rifle is operated by an automatic rifleman, but its ammunition may be carried by other Soldiers within the squad or unit. The M249 machine gun is a crew-served weapon, Machine guns usually have simple iron sights, though the use of optics is becoming more common. Many heavy machine guns, such as the Browning M2.50 caliber machine gun, are enough to engage targets at great distances. During the Vietnam War, Carlos Hathcock set the record for a shot at 7382 ft with a.50 caliber heavy machine gun he had equipped with a telescopic sight. This led to the introduction of.50 caliber anti-materiel sniper rifles, selective fire rifles firing a full-power rifle cartridge from a closed bolt are called automatic rifles or battle rifles, while rifles that fire an intermediate cartridge are called assault rifles. Unlocking and removing the spent case from the chamber and ejecting it out of the weapon as bolt is moving rearward Loading the next round into the firing chamber. Usually the recoil spring tension pushes bolt back into battery and a cam strips the new round from a feeding device, cycle is repeated as long as the trigger is activated by operator. Releasing the trigger resets the trigger mechanism by engaging a sear so the weapon stops firing with bolt carrier fully at the rear, the operation is basically the same for all autoloading firearms, regardless of the means of activating these mechanisms. Most modern machine guns use gas-operated reloading, a recoil actuated machine gun uses the recoil to first unlock and then operate the action. Machine guns such as the M2 Browning and MG42, are of this type, a cam, lever or actuator demultiplicates the energy of the recoil to operate the bolt
17.
Cummins
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Dongfeng Motor Corporation is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wuhan, China. Traditionally one of the Big Three Chinese automakers, Dongfeng is currently in the top four in terms of output along with Changan Motors, FAW Group, in addition to commercial and consumer vehicles, it also manufactures parts and cooperates with foreign companies. Counting six global automakers as partners, it has more Sino-foreign joint ventures than any other Chinese carmaker and these partnerships allow it to produce and sell a variety of foreign-brand products in China including those of Citroën, Honda, Kia, Nissan, Peugeot, and Renault. Other brand names associated with Dongfeng include Fengshen, Infiniti, Luxgen, heavy-duty commercial vehicles and buses are sold under the eponymous Dongfeng brand although c.2015 the Dual Sparrows logo started appearing on consumer products as well. The company was the second-largest Chinese vehicle maker in 2014 by production volume manufacturing over 3.5 million whole vehicles that year, commercial vehicle production that year was higher than all other domestic manufacturers at nearly 450,000. Dongfeng has two listed subsidiaries—Dongfeng Motor Group Co and Dongfeng Automobile Co Ltd. Some sources may refer to the company as Dong Feng, use an acronym like DFM, or use the name in conjunction with others when referring to a subsidiary, joint venture, or other associated enterprise. Known as Second Automobile Works until 1992, Dongfeng, or East Wind in Chinese, was founded in 1969. Its origins lie in a dictate of Chairman Mao Zedong, as part of his Third Front strategy, traditionally manufacturing commercial vehicles, by 2001 these made up about 73% of Dongfengs production. By 2012, that figure had reversed, and 73% of manufactures were passenger cars, however, the percentage of consumer offerings was likely lower as passenger car counts may include microvans, tiny commercial vehicles that are popular in China. Post-1985, further reforms took place that allowed Dongfeng greater autonomy, by the mid-1980s, its assets had tripled from those initially given to it by the state in 1981, and management was desirous of even greater production capacity. But in 1995, the company was experiencing financial difficulties as was the case with many Chinese automobile manufacturers at this time, the situation was still dire in 1998 precipitating a 1999 restructuring of the company. This state owned enterprise has come into conflict with authority at both the national and provincial levels, the Chinese partner in many Sino-foreign joint venture companies, Dongfeng initiated most of these cooperative efforts with foreign firms in the early 2000s. But its first was established in 1992 with French PSA Group, known as Dongfeng Citroën Automobile Company, it was the forerunner to the current Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobile Limited. By 2003, Dongfeng had established joint ventures with Kia Motors, Honda, as of 2011, it had more Sino-foreign joint ventures than any other Chinese automaker, and the 2013 creation of a partnership with French Renault means it retains this title today. In 2009, it sold 1.9 million vehicles ranking second among domestic automakers, at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show, Dongfeng displayed an electric vehicle concept car, a physical representation of its vow to bring an electric car to market by 2015. In 2010, the company sold 2.72 million units and it reported 1.72 million sales of passenger vehicles that same year. 2011 production figures put the company in place, in terms of production volume, in its home market
18.
Diesel engine
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Diesel engines work by compressing only the air. This increases the air temperature inside the cylinder to such a degree that it ignites atomised diesel fuel that is injected into the combustion chamber. This contrasts with spark-ignition engines such as an engine or gas engine. In diesel engines, glow plugs may be used to aid starting in cold weather, or when the engine uses a lower compression-ratio, the original diesel engine operates on the constant pressure cycle of gradual combustion and produces no audible knock. Low-speed diesel engines can have an efficiency that exceeds 50%. Diesel engines may be designed as either two-stroke or four-stroke cycles and they were originally used as a more efficient replacement for stationary steam engines. Since the 1910s they have used in submarines and ships. Use in locomotives, trucks, heavy equipment and electricity generation plants followed later, in the 1930s, they slowly began to be used in a few automobiles. Since the 1970s, the use of engines in larger on-road and off-road vehicles in the US increased. According to the British Society of Motor Manufacturing and Traders, the EU average for diesel cars accounts for 50% of the total sold, including 70% in France and 38% in the UK. The worlds largest diesel engine is currently a Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C Common Rail marine diesel, the definition of a Diesel engine to many has become an engine that uses compression ignition. To some it may be an engine that uses heavy fuel oil, to others an engine that does not use spark ignition. However the original cycle proposed by Rudolf Diesel in 1892 was a constant temperature cycle which would require higher compression than what is needed for compression ignition. Diesels idea was to compress the air so tightly that the temperature of the air would exceed that of combustion, to make this more clear, let it be assumed that the subsequent combustion shall take place at a temperature of 700°. Then in that case the pressure must be sixty-four atmospheres, or for 800° centigrade the pressure must be ninety atmospheres. In later years Diesel realized his original cycle would not work, Diesel describes the cycle in his 1895 patent application. Notice that there is no longer a mention of compression temperatures exceeding the temperature of combustion, now all that is mentioned is the compression must be high enough for ignition. In 1806 Claude and Nicéphore Niépce developed the first known internal combustion engine, the Pyréolophore fuel system used a blast of air provided by a bellows to atomize Lycopodium
19.
Torsion bar suspension
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A torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension, is a general term for any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight bearing spring. Vertical motion of the causes the bar to twist around its axis and is resisted by the bars torsion resistance. The effective spring rate of the bar is determined by its length, cross section, shape, material, manufacturers change the torsion bar or key to adjust the ride height, usually to compensate for heavier or lighter engines. Over-rotating the torsion bars can cause the suspension to hit the bump-stop prematurely. Aftermarket forged-metal torsion key kits use relocked adjuster keys to prevent over-rotation, the main advantages of a torsion bar suspension are durability, easy adjustability of ride height, and small profile along the width of the vehicle. It takes up less of the interior volume than coil springs. Torsion bars reached the height of their popularity on mass-production road cars in the middle of the 20th century at the time that unitary construction was being adopted. Using MacPherson struts to achieve independent front suspension with coil springs meant providing strong turrets in the structure of the car. A disadvantage is that torsion bars, unlike coil springs, usually provide a progressive spring rate. In most torsion bar systems, ride height may be changed by simply adjusting bolts that connect the torsion bars to the steering knuckles, in most cars with this type of suspension, swapping torsion bars for a different spring rate is usually an easy task. Some vehicles use torsion bars to provide automatic levelling, using a motor to pre-stress the bars to provide resistance to load and, in some cases. Height adjustable suspension has been used to implement a wheel-change mode where the vehicle is raised on three wheels so that the wheel is lifted off the ground without the aid of a jack. Before World War II, the front wheel drive Citroen Traction Avant had independent front torsion bar suspension, the flexibility of the axle beam provided wheel location features like a twist beam axle. The Czechoslovakian Tatra cars designed by Professor Hans Ledwinka in the mid-1930s used all round independent torsion bar suspension, also in the 1930s, prototypes of the first Volkswagen Beetle incorporated torsion bars—especially its transverse mounting style. The system first saw use in the Swedish Stridsvagn L-60 tank of 1934. It was used extensively in European cars Renault, Citroën and Volkswagen, the Packard used torsion bars at both front and rear, and interconnected the front and rear systems to improve ride quality. Morris Minor and Oxford from the late 1940s onwards used a front torsion bar system very similar to the Citroen, the single torsion bar was mounted through the frame sides behind the rear axle and then attached by arms and links to the front side of the spring U-bolt plates. Axle Flex was discontinued for the 1936 model year, the designer of these cars, Alec Issigonis was inspired by the Traction Avants suspension although the Morris cars were rear-wheel drive and used conventional leaf springs for their rear axles
20.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
21.
BAE Systems Land & Armaments
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It is the largest such company in the world. It was created on 24 June 2005, following the completion of BAE Systems acquisition of United Defense in 2004, in 2007 BAE Systems acquired Armor Holdings adding to the size of Land & Armaments significantly. BAE Systems was formed in 1989 by the merger of British Aerospace, bAes land systems business was RO Defence, a major manufacturer of explosives, ammunition and small arms. MES owned Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd, manufacturer of the M777 howitzer, on June 4,2003 BAE Systems outbid General Dynamics for Alvis plc, the UKs principal land systems business. What had seemed a certain win for the US company was stopped by BAE Systems surprise move and it has been seen as an attempt to keep such a strong competitor at bay in BAE Systems backyard. Alvis and BAE RO Defence were merged as BAE Systems Land Systems, when Dick Olver was appointed Chairman of BAE Systems in July 2003 he ordered a review of the companys businesses which confirmed the attractiveness of the land systems sector. This shift in strategy was described as remarkable by the Financial Times, on March 7,2005 BAE Systems announced the $3.174 billion acquisition of United Defense Industries. UDI, a competitor to General Dynamics, was primarily a land systems manufacturer, boosting BAE Systems involvement in this sector. UDI manufactured combat vehicles, artillery systems, naval guns, missile launchers, BAE Systems Land and Armaments was formed in June 2004 in a reorganisation of BAEs businesses. Land and Armaments, headquartered in the United States as part of BAE Systems Inc. took control of BAEs existing land systems businesses, Land and Armaments has received regular contracts for the reset of Bradley armoured fighting vehicles. By August of the financial year 2006 BAE had received contracts totalling $477.9 million, in July 2008 BAE failed to win the $1.06 billion MRAP All Terrain Vehicle contract which will see 7,244 vehicles produced for the US Marine Corps. In September 2009 BAE lost a contract, the first stage of a multibillion-dollar follow-on order for up to 23,542 trucks as part of the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles programme. Despite a successful appeal forcing the US Army to reevaluate the bids, BAE announced a £592 million writedown of the former Armor Holdings business as a result. Global Tactical Systems was formed from the merger of Mobility & Protection Systems Medium/Heavy Vehicle business, the former United Defense business, BAEs US Combat Systems produces fighting vehicle platforms and armaments. Global Combat Systems was formed on 1 February 2009 by the merger of BAE Systems Land Systems Weapons & Vehicles, Land Systems Ltd and it also has a 50/50 joint venture with Nexter, CTA International, which is located in Bourges, France. Upon its creation on 2 January 1985, Royal Ordnance plc owned the twelve Royal Ordnance Factories that remained open, plus the Waltham Abbey South site, RSAF Enfield, several factors delayed the intended privatisation until 22 April 1987, when British Aerospace purchased the company. In 1999 British Aerospace merged with Marconi Electronic Systems, the interests of GEC to form BAE Systems. In 2002 Heckler & Koch was sold to Heckler and Koch Beteiligungs GmbH, in 2004 BAE Systems acquired Alvis plc which was merged with the RO Defence business and ex-GEC plants at Barrow-in-Furness and Leicester to form BAE Systems Land Systems
22.
United Defense
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United Defense Industries was a United States defense contractor which is now part of BAE Systems Land and Armaments. This company produced vehicles, artillery, naval guns, missile launchers. The new company owned the former FMC California-based Ground Systems Division, the new company restructured its operations to concentrate final assembly and testing to Pennsylvania. In September 2000, UDI purchased Bofors Weapon Systems AB of Sweden, in 1997 UDI was subject to a takeover bids by rival General Dynamics and Carlyle Group. It chose the bid from private equity firm The Carlyle Group, the Carlyle Group floated the company in 2001 but retained a share of the company. On March 7,2005 UK-based defence contractor BAE Systems announced it was to acquire UDI for $3.974 billion and this followed expressions of interest from companies including Northrop Grumman. BAE Systems bid was referred to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to ensure there were no security implications of the sale. The CFIUS granted approval of the deal in April 2005
23.
Amphibious vehicle
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An amphibious vehicle, is a vehicle that is a means of transport, viable on land as well as on water. Amphibious vehicles include amphibious bicycles, ATVs, cars, buses, trucks, military vehicles, classic landing craft are not amphibious vehicles as they do not offer any real land transportation at all, although they are part of amphibious assault. Ground effect vehicles, such as Ekranoplans, will likely crash on any, apart from the distinction in sizes mentioned above, two main categories of amphibious vehicle are immediately apparent, those that travel on an air-cushion and those that do not. Most land vehicles – even lightly armoured ones – can be made simply by providing them with a waterproof hull. This is possible as a displacement is usually greater than its weight. Heavily armoured vehicles however sometimes have a density greater than water, for propulsion in or on the water some vehicles simply make do by spinning their wheels or tracks, while others can power their way forward more effectively using screw propeller or water jet. Inventor Gail Borden, better known for condensed milk, designed and tested a sail powered wagon in 1849, on testing it reportedly tipped over 50 feet from shore, from an apparent lack of ballast to counteract the force of the wind in the sail. In the 1870s, logging companies in eastern Canada and the northern United States developed a steam-powered amphibious tug called an Alligator which could cross between lakes and rivers, the most successful Alligator tugs were produced by the firm of West and Peachey in Simcoe, Ontario. One of the first reasonably well documented cases was the 1905 amphibious petrol-powered carriage of T. Richmond, just like the worlds first petrol-powered automobile it was a three-wheeler. The single front wheel provided direction, both on land and in the water, a three-cylinder petrol combustion-engine powered the oversized rear wheels. In order to get the wheels to provide propulsion in the water, remarkably the boat-like hull was one of the first integral bodies ever used on a car. In some of them the amphibious capabilities are central to their purpose, the design that came together with all the features needed for a practical all terrain amphibious vehicle was by Peter Prell of New Jersey. His design, unlike others, could not only on rivers and lakes but the sea. It combined a boat-like hull with tank-like tracks, in 1931 he tested a scaled down version of his invention. Recently, Gibbs Amphibians has developed a new type of amphibian, the vehicles use a patented hydraulic system to raise the wheels into the wheel wells, allowing the vehicles to plane on water. The vehicles can transition between land and water modes in about five seconds, the first Gibbs fast amphibian is the Quadski, introduced in October 2012. It went on sale in January 2013, Iguana Yachts, a French company created in 2008, has developed amphibious motorboats featuring all-terrain tracks. Since then, the company launched their first commercial vehicle, The Panther, the WaterCar can do 80 mph on land, and 44 mph on sea, and can transition from land to sea in less than 15 seconds
24.
BMP-1
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The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty 1, meaning infantry fighting vehicle, the BMP-1 was the first mass-produced infantry fighting vehicle of USSR. It was called the M-1967, BMP and BMP-76PB by NATO before its designation was known. It would increase infantry squad mobility, provide support to them. The BMP-1 was first tested in combat in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, based on lessons learned from this conflict, and early experiences in the Soviet War in Afghanistan, a version with improved fighting qualities was developed, called the BMP-2. It was accepted into service in August 1980, in 1987, the BMP-3, a radically redesigned vehicle with a completely new weapon system, entered service in limited numbers with the Soviet Army. Existing APCs offered little or no protection from nuclear or chemical weapons. Furthermore, the infantry had to disembark to be able to use their weapons, the requirement for the BMP, which was first drawn up in the late 1950s, stressed speed, good armament, and the ability for all squad members to fire from within the vehicle. The armament had to direct support for dismounted infantry in the attack and defense. The vehicle needed to protect the crew from.50 cal machinegun fire and 20–23 mm caliber autocannons across the frontal arc, firepower consisted of the innovative combination of the 73 mm 2A28 Grom gun and a launcher for the 9M14 Malyutka anti-tank wire-guided missile. Requirements were issued to the design bureaus between 1959 and 1960. There was a question as to whether the BMP should be tracked or wheeled, so a number of configurations were explored. The tracked Obyekt 764 was chosen because its front-engine design provided a convenient, the original prototype was built in 1964, followed by the improved Obyekt 765 in 1965, which was accepted by the Army in 1966, under a designation BMP-1. A large number of variants of the BMP-1 were produced, with the most notable IFV variants being, BMP-2, MLI-84, the BMP went into production with the Soviet Army in 1966. The first series was produced until 1969 and it was replaced by the improved production model, the BMP-1, which was produced from 1969 until 1973. This, in turn, was replaced by the Obyekt 765 Sp3, a number of improvements were made to the reliability of the chassis, engine and transmission during mass production. The last version of the BMP-1 IFV, which was produced from 1979 to 1983, was armed with a more powerful ATGM launcher 9P135M-1 for the ATGM Konkurs/Fagot. Upgrades of the BMP-1 were performed by KMZ as well as by tank repair workshops of the Ministry of Defence during scheduled, more than 20,000 BMP-1s and vehicles based on it were built in the USSR
25.
Armoured personnel carrier
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An armoured personnel carrier is a type of armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield. APCs are colloquially referred to as taxis or battle buses. Armoured personnel carriers are distinguished from infantry fighting vehicles by the weaponry they carry, by convention, they are not intended to take part in direct-fire battle, but are armed for self-defence and armoured to provide protection from shrapnel and small arms fire. Examples include the American M113, the French VAB, the Dutch-German GTK Boxer, the genesis of the armoured personnel carrier was on the Western Front of World War I. In the later stage of the war, Allied tanks could break through enemy lines, without infantry support, the tanks were isolated and more easily destroyed. In response, the British experimented with carrying machine-gun crews in the Mark V* tank, britain therefore designed the first purpose built armoured troop transport, the Mark IX, but the war ended before it could be put to use. During World War II, half-tracks like the American M3 and German SdKfz 251 played a similar to post-war APCs. British Commonwealth forces relied on the full-tracked Universal Carrier, over the course of the war, APCs evolved from simple armoured cars with transport capacity, to purpose built vehicles. Obsolete armoured vehicles were also repurposed as APCs, such as the various Kangaroos converted from M7 Priest self-propelled guns and from Churchill, M3 Stuart, during the Cold War, more specialized APCs were developed. Western nations have since retired most M113s, replacing them with newer APCs, the Soviet Union produced the BTR-40, BTR-152, BTR-60, BTR-70, BTR-80 in large numbers. The BTR-60 and BTR-80 remain in production, czechoslovakia and Poland together developed the universal amphibious OT-64 SKOT. A cold war example of a Kangaroo is the heavily armoured Israeli Achzarit, weight can vary from 6 to 40 tons or more, but 9 to 20 tons is typical. Most have a capacity of between 8 and 12 dismountable troops, although some can carry more than 20, in addition, it has a crew of at least one driver, many with a gunner and/or commander as well. An APC is either wheeled or tracked, or occasionally a combination of the two, as in a half-track, both systems have advantages and limitations. Tracked vehicles have more traction off-road and more maneuverability, including a turn radius. Wheeled APCs are faster on road, can cross long distances, and are expensive to develop, produce. However, wheeled vehicles have higher pressure than tracked vehicles with a comparable weight. The higher ground pressure increases the likelihood of becoming immobilized by soft terrains such as mud and their tracks can propel the APC in the water
26.
Tank killer
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The tank destroyer on the other hand is specifically designed to take on enemy armour. Many are based on a tank chassis, while others are wheeled. Since World War II, gun-armed tank destroyers have fallen out of favor as armies have favored multirole main battle tanks, however, lightly armored anti-tank guided missile carriers are commonly used for supplementary long-range anti-tank work. Dedicated anti-tank vehicles made their first major appearance in the Second World War as combatants developed effective armored vehicles, some were little more than stopgap solutions, mounting an anti-tank gun on a tracked vehicle to give mobility, while others were more sophisticated designs. Except for most American designs, tank destroyers were all turretless and had fixed or casemate superstructures, the turretless design allowed accommodation of a more powerful gun, typically a dedicated anti-tank gun that had a longer barrel than could be mounted in a turreted tank on the same chassis. The lack of an increased the vehicles internal volume, allowing for increased ammunition stowage. Eliminating the turret allowed the vehicle to carry thicker armor than would otherwise be the case, sometimes there was no armored roof to keep the overall weight down to the limit that the chassis could bear. Variants of the Polish TKS and TK-3 tankettes up-armed with 20 mm gun were operationally deployed in the invasion of Poland and they were used as an anti-tank component of the reconnaissance units. Due to the defeat of France, few French vehicles were built. The Laffly W15 TCC was an attempt to build a light tank destroyer by mounting a 47 mm SA37 anti-tank gun onto a lightly armored Laffly W15T artillery tractor. Other French tank destroyers were being developed, including the SOMUA SAu-40, ARL V39, for instance,202 obsolete Panzer I light tanks were modified by removing the turret and were rebuilt as the Panzerjäger I self-propelled 4.7 cm PaK. Similarly, Panzer II tanks were used on the eastern front, captured Soviet 76.2 mm anti-tank guns were mounted on modified Panzer II chassis, producing the Marder II self-propelled anti-tank gun. The most common mounting was a German 75 mm anti-tank gun on the Czech Panzer 38 chassis to produce the Marder III, the Panzer 38 chassis was also used to make the Jagdpanzer 38 casemate style tank destroyer. The Panzerjäger series continued up to the 88 mm equipped Nashorn, German tank destroyers based on the Panzer III and later German tanks were unique in that they had more armor than their tank counterparts. One of the more successful German tank destroyers was actually designed as an artillery gun. Based on the Panzer III tank chassis, the Sturmgeschütz III was originally fitted with a low-velocity gun, later, after encountering Soviet tanks, it was refitted with a comparatively short-barreled high-velocity anti-tank gun, usually with a muzzle brake, enabling it to function as a tank destroyer. The Sturmgeschütz III from its 1938 origin used a new superstructure with an integrated design similar to the later Jagdpanzer to completely enclose the crew. It was employed in support and offensive armored operations as well as in the defensive anti-tank role
27.
M1 Abrams
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The M1 Abrams is an American third-generation main battle tank. It is named after General Creighton Abrams, former Army chief of staff, highly mobile, designed for modern armored ground warfare, the M1 is well armed and heavily armored. Notable features include the use of a powerful multifuel turbine engine, the adoption of sophisticated composite armor, weighing nearly 68 short tons, it is one of the heaviest main battle tanks in service. The M1 Abrams entered U. S. service in 1980, the M1 remains the principal main battle tank of the United States Army and Marine Corps, and the armies of Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Iraq. Three main versions of the M1 Abrams have been deployed, the M1, M1A1, and M1A2, incorporating improved armament, protection and these improvements and other upgrades to in-service tanks have allowed this long-serving vehicle to remain in front-line service. In addition, development for the improved M1A3 version was reported in 2009, the M1 Abrams was developed during the Cold War as a successor to the canceled MBT-70. The M1 Abrams contract went to Chrysler Defense and was the first vehicle to adopt Chobham armor, adaptations before the Persian Gulf War gave the vehicle better firepower and NBC protection. Being vastly superior to Iraqi tanks, very few M1 tanks were hit by enemy fire, Upgrades after the war improved the tanks weapons sights and fire control unit. The Abrams participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, exposing vulnerabilities in urban combat that were addressed with the TUSK modification, the Marine Corps sent a company of M1A1 Abrams tanks to Afghanistan in 2010. The first attempt to replace the aging M60 tank was the MBT-70, the MBT-70 had advanced features such as a height-adjustable air suspension and a very low-profile chassis with the driver located in the turret. The MBT-70 ultimately proved to be too heavy, complex, as a result of the imminent failure of this project, the U. S. Army introduced the XM803, using some technologies from the MBT-70 but removing some of the more troublesome features. This succeeded only in producing a system with capabilities similar to the M60. Congress canceled the MBT-70 in November and XM803 December 1971, and redistributed the funds to the new XM815, prototypes were delivered in 1976 by Chrysler Defense and General Motors armed with the license-built version of the 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 gun along with a Leopard 2 for comparison. The turbine-powered Chrysler Defense design was selected for development as the M1, in February 1982, General Dynamics Land Systems Division purchased Chrysler Defense, after Chrysler built over 1,000 M1s. A total of 3,273 M1 Abrams tanks were produced 1979–85, Production at the government-owned, GDLS-operated Lima Army Tank Plant in Lima, Ohio, was joined by vehicles built at the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant in Warren, Michigan from 1982 to 1996. The M1 was armed with the version of the 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 gun. An improved model called the M1IP was produced briefly in 1984, the M1IP models were used in the Canadian Army Trophy NATO tank gunnery competition in 1985 and 1987. Production of M1 and M1A1 tanks totaled some 9,000 tanks at a cost of approximately $4.3 million per unit, by 1999, costs for the tank were upwards of US$5 million a vehicle
28.
M113 armored personnel carrier
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The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier that was developed by Food Machinery Corp. The vehicle was first fielded by the United States Armys mechanized infantry units in Vietnam in April 1962 and it was largely known as an APC or an ACAV by the allied forces. The armys heavy brigade combat teams are equipped with around 6,000 M113s and 4,000 Bradleys, the M113s versatility spawned a wide variety of adaptations that live on worldwide, and in U. S. service. These variants together currently represent about half of U. S. Army armored vehicles. To date, it is estimated that over 80,000 M113s of all types have been produced and used by over 50 countries worldwide, the Military Channels Top Ten series named the M113 the most significant infantry vehicle in history. Thousands of M113s continue to see service in the IDF. The M113 was developed by Food Machinery Corp. which had produced the earlier M59, the M113 bears a very strong resemblance to both of these earlier vehicles. The M75 was too heavy and expensive to be useful, its weight prevented amphibious capability, the lightened M59 addressed both of these problems, but ended up with too little armor, and was unreliable as a result of efforts to reduce its cost. The army was looking for a vehicle that combined the best features of both designs, the airborne armored multi-purpose vehicle family, of all-purpose, all-terrain armored fighting vehicles FMC had been working with Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Co. in the late 1950s to develop suitable aluminum armor. It was known that use of armor could produce a vehicle that provided the protection of the M75. Food Machinery Corp. responded with two proposals, two versions of the aluminum T113—a thicker and a thinner armored one—along with the similar but mostly steel T117. The thicker-armored version of the T113, effectively the prototype of the M113, was chosen because it weighed less than its steel competitor, an improved T113 design, the T113E1, was adopted by the U. S. Army in 1960 as the M113. A diesel prototype, T113E2, was put into production in 1964 as the M113A1, in 1994, FMC transferred the M113s production over to its newly formed defense subsidiary, United Defense. Then in 2005, United Defense was acquired by BAE Systems, the M113 was developed to provide a survivable and reliable light tracked vehicle able to be air-lifted and air-dropped, by C-130 and C-141 transport planes. Entering service with the U. S. Army in 1960 and its main armament was a single. 50-caliber M2 Browning machine gun operated by the commander. On 30 March 1962, the first batch of 32 M113s arrived in Vietnam, on 11 June 1962, the two mechanized units were fielded for the first time. During the Battle of Ap Bac in January 1963, at least fourteen of the exposed.50 caliber gunners aboard the M113s were killed in action, necessitating modifications to improve crew survivability. Soon, makeshift shields formed from metal salvaged from the hulls of ships were fitted to the carriers
29.
M60 Patton
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The M60 Patton is a main battle tank introduced in December 1960. With the United States Armys deactivation of their last heavy tank battalion in 1963, although developed from the M48 Patton, the M60 series was never officially classified as a Patton tank, but as a product-improved descendant of the Patton series. In March 1959, the tank was officially standardized as the 105 mm Gun Full Tracked Combat Tank M60, the M60 underwent many updates over its service life. The interior layout, based on the design of the M48, provided room for updates and improvements. Egypt is currently the largest operator with 1,716 upgraded M60A3s, Turkey is second with 866 upgraded units in service, during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, a Soviet T-54A medium tank was driven onto the grounds of the British embassy in Budapest by the Hungarians. After a brief examination of this armor and 100 mm gun. There were also rumors of an even larger 115 mm gun in the works, hence there was a need to adopt a 105 mm gun, which emerged as the famed Royal Ordnance L7. This information made its way to the United States, where the Army had been experimenting with a series of upgrades to their M48 Patton tanks. These experiments were concerned with improving the armor and the introduction of a variety of systems, such as that used in the 105 mm gun tank T54. The T95 program, launched after the Questionmark III conference in June 1954, was the replacement to the M48. It featured a host of innovative and experimental components such as its 90 mm smoothbore T208 cannon rigidly affixed to its turret, the burden of developing them however slowed the overall program to a crawl. General Taylor approved of a new development program in August 1957. The MBT was to combine the firepower and protection sufficient for the role with the mobility to perform as a medium tank. A tank of the T95 series, armed with a smoothbore cannon, the course of this tank program was the source of widespread debate. The Bureau of Budget believed that the Army was not progressing with sufficient speed in its modernization program. The alternative was to introduce a tank from the T95 series, an influential group of senior officers, by May 1958, concluded that the T95 had only marginal advantages over the M48A2. They proposed that the most important improvements, better firepower and fuel economy, could be achieved by mounting a compression ignition engine, the main gun was chosen after a comparative firing test on the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Participating in the test were six guns, the 90 mm M41, the 90 mm T208E9, the 105 mm X15E8, the 105 mm T254, the 120 mm T123E6, and the 120 mm M58
30.
25 mm caliber
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The 25 mm caliber is a specific size of cannon or autocannon ammunition. It has also recently used for the anti-materiel rifle. Such ammunition includes the NATO-standard 25×137mm and 25×184mm rounds, as well as the World War II-era French-designed 25×163mm, the 25 mm round can be used in both an anti-materiel and anti-personnel fashion. When operating in the role, a 25 mm weapon armed with HE rounds can effectively kill large numbers of opposing troops either in the open or in light fortifications. When operating in the role, a 25 mm weapon armed with armor-piercing rounds can disable many aircraft and vehicles. The US military uses 25 mm weapons in their AV-8B Harrier, AC-130 gunship, M2 Bradley, LAV-25, F-35 Lightning II, several sub-types of the NATO25 mm ammunition are available—the most common being armor-piercing, high-explosive, sabot, tracer, and practice rounds. Cartridges are usually composed of a combination of the aforementioned categories, for example, the M791 pictured to the right is an armor-piercing discarding sabot with tracer round. It is used against lightly armored vehicles, self-propelled artillery, and aerial targets such as helicopters and slow-moving fixed-wing aircraft
31.
Autocannon
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An autocannon or automatic cannon is a large, fully automatic, rapid-fire projectile weapon that fires armour-piercing or explosive shells, as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannons often have a larger calibre than a gun, but are usually smaller than a field gun or other artillery. When used on its own, the word autocannon indicates a single-barrel weapon, when multiple rotating barrels are involved, the word rotary is added, and such a weapon is referred to as a rotary autocannon. As such, ammunition is fed from a belt to reduce reloading or for a faster rate of fire. They can use a variety of ammunition, common shells include high-explosive dual-purpose types, any variety of armour-piercing types, both the US25 mm Bushmaster and the British 30 mm Rarden have relatively slow rates of fire so as not to use ammunition too quickly. The rate of fire of a modern autocannon ranges from 90 rounds per minute, systems with multiple barrels can have rates of fire of over 10,000 rounds per minute. The first modern autocannon was the British QF1 pounder, also known as the pom-pom, during the First World War, autocannons were mostly used in the trenches as an anti-aircraft gun. Attempts to use them in aircraft failed as the severely limited both speed and altitude, thus making successful interception impossible. The more effective QF2 pounder naval gun would be developed during the war to serve as an anti-aircraft, autocannons would serve in a much greater capacity during the Second World War. During the inter-war years, aircraft underwent an evolution and the monoplane, pioneered as far back as the end of 1915, almost replaced wood. The subsequent increase in speed and durability greatly reduced the window of opportunity for defence and this was only reversed with the introduction of computer-controlled systems. The German Panzer II light tank, which was one of the most numerous in German service during the invasion of Poland and the campaign in France, used a 20 mm autocannon as its main armament. Although ineffective against tank armour even during the years of the war. Larger examples, such as the 40 mm Vickers S, were mounted in ground attack aircraft to serve as an anti-tank weapon, Polish 20 mm 38 Fk auto cannon was expensive to produce, but an exception. Unlike the Oerlikon, it was effective against all the tanks fielded in 1939, largely because it was built as an upgrade to the Oerlikon, Hispano—Suiza and it, with great difficulty, proved capable of knocking out even early Panzer IIIs and IVs. Only 55 were produced by the time of the Polish Defensive War, in aircraft, several factors brought about the replacement of rifle-calibre machine guns by autocannons. Early autocannons were heavy and had a rate of fire. Along with the speed, the size of aircraft grew substantially, particularly in the 1930s, so that the weight was less of an issue while the rate of fire, and reliability were greatly improved
32.
Tracer ammunition
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Tracer ammunition are bullets or cannon caliber projectiles that are built with a small pyrotechnic charge in their base. Ignited by the powder, the pyrotechnic composition burns very brightly, making the projectile trajectory visible to the naked eye during daylight. This enables the shooter to make aiming corrections without observing the impact of the rounds fired, tracer fire can also be used to signal to other shooters where to concentrate their fire during battle. When used, tracers are usually loaded as every fifth round in machine gun belts, platoon and squad leaders will load some tracer rounds in their magazine or even use solely tracers to mark targets for their soldiers to fire on. Tracers are also placed two or three rounds from the bottom of magazines to alert the shooter that his weapon is almost empty. Unfortunately, this practice would similarly alert an astute enemy that his foe was nearly out of ammunition, more often, however, the entire magazine was loaded four-to-one, on both fixed offensive and flexible defensive guns, to help mitigate the difficulties of aerial gunnery. The United States relied heavily on tracer ammunition for the defensive Browning M2 and this proved true of fixed forward firing guns as well. Tracer rounds can also have an incendiary effect, and can ignite flammable substances on contact. Before the development of tracers, gunners relied on seeing their bullet impacts to adjust their aim, in the early 20th century, ammunition designers developed spotlight bullets, which would create a flash or smoke puff on impact to increase their visibility. However, these projectiles were deemed in violation of the Hague Conventions prohibition of exploding bullets and this strategy was also useless when firing at aircraft, as there was nothing for the projectiles to impact on if they missed the target. Designers also developed bullets that would trail white smoke, however, these designs required an excessive amount of mass loss to generate a satisfactory trail. The loss of mass en route to the severely affected the bullets ballistics. The United Kingdom was the first to develop and introduce a tracer round, the United States introduced a. 30-06 tracer in 1917. Prior to adopting red bullet tips for tracers, American tracers were identified by blackened cartridge cases, tracers proved useful as a countermeasure against Zeppelins used by Germany during World War I. The airships were used for reconnaissance, surveillance and bombing operations, normal bullets merely had the effect of causing a slow leak, but tracers could ignite the hydrogen gasbags, and bring down the airship quickly. In World War II US naval and marine aircrew were issued tracer rounds with their arms for emergency signaling use as well as defense. A tracer projectile is constructed with a base filled with a pyrotechnic flare material, made of a mixture of a very finely ground metallic fuel, oxidizer. Metallic fuels include magnesium, aluminum, and occasionally zirconium, the oxidizer is a salt molecule which contains oxygen combined with a specific atom responsible for the desired color output
33.
High-explosive incendiary
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HEI ammunition is fused either mechanically or chemically. The armor-piercing ability can vary widely, allowing for more focused fragmentation or larger scatter, HEI ammunition was originally developed for use in large-caliber cannon, howitzer and naval artillery. Currently, HEI rounds are most commonly made in sizes of 20 mm,25 mm. The shells were first employed in naval batteries, but soon found their way to land-based howitzers as well and they caused fires, which on ships can be difficult to extinguish in the tight spaces. Also, fired at tanks and soft targets, they can cause fires that completely engulf the vehicle, incendiary shells are no longer in use by many countries, due to bans on the use of phosphorus weapons. Armor-piercing shot and shell penetrate the target using kinetic energy before the incendiary charge ignites, smothering the crew in flames, detonating ammunition, and destroying the target. HEIAP High Explosive Incendiary/Armor Piercing Ammunition Live fire experiment of mechanically fuzed HEI rounds Example of US military 30 mm HEI round Fragmentation pattern of a German Round
34.
Kinetic energy penetrator
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A kinetic energy penetrator is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate vehicle armour. Like a bullet, this ammunition does not contain explosives and uses energy to penetrate the target. Modern KEP munitions are typically of the armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot type, early cannons fired kinetic energy ammunition, initially consisting of round balls of worked stone and later of round balls of metal. From the beginning, combining high energy with projectile density. Similarly, the foremost purpose of weapons has generally been to defeat armour or other defensive structures, whether stone castle walls, ship timbers. Kinetic energy ammunition, in its various forms, has consistently been the choice for those weapons due to the need for high muzzle energy, the development of the modern KE penetrator combines two aspects of artillery design, high muzzle velocity and concentrated force. High muzzle velocity is achieved by using a projectile with a low mass, firing a small size projectile wrapped in a lightweight outer shell, called a sabot, raises the muzzle velocity. Once the shell clears the barrel, the sabot is no longer needed and this leaves the projectile traveling at high velocity with a smaller cross-sectional area and reduced aerodynamic drag during the flight to the target. Germany developed modern sabots under the name treibspiegel to give extra altitude to its anti-aircraft guns during the Second World War, the name sabot is the French word for clog. Concentration of force into an area was initially attained by replacing the single metal shot with a composite shot using two metals, a heavy core inside a lighter metal outer shell. These designs were either as armour-piercing composite rigid, high-velocity armor-piercing. On impact, the core had a more concentrated effect than plain metal shot of the same weight. However, the air resistance and other effects were the same as for the shell of identical size, between 1941 and 1943, the British combined the two techniques in the armour-piercing discarding sabot round. The sabot replaced the metal shell of the APCR. While in the gun the shot had a base area to get maximum acceleration from the propelling charge but once outside. High-velocity armor-piercing rounds were introduced by the United States Army. The principle of the kinetic energy penetrator is that it uses its kinetic energy, if the armor is defeated, the heat and spalling generated by the penetrator going through the armor, and the pressure wave that would develop, ideally destroys the target. The opposite technique to KE-penetrators uses chemical energy penetrators, there are two types of these shells in use, high-explosive anti-tank and high-explosive squash head
35.
Coaxial weapon
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A weapon mount is a weapon component used to affix an armament for stabilization. Weapon mounts can be broken down into two categories, static mounts and non-static mounts, a static mount is a non-portable weapon support component used on a self-propelled vehicle. A gun turret protects the crew or mechanism of a weapon, a turret is a rotating weapon platform. This can be mounted on a building or structure such as a coast artillery battery, or on an armoured fighting vehicle. Turrets may be armed with one or more guns, automatic cannons, large-calibre guns, missile launchers. It may be manned or remotely controlled, and is often armoured, a small turret, or sub-turret on a larger one, is called a cupola. The term cupola also describes rotating turrets that carry no weapons but instead are sighting devices, a finial is an extremely small sub-turret or sub-sub-turret mounted on a cupola turret. The protection provided by the turret may be against battle damage or against the weather, conditions and environment in which the weapon or its crew operate. A coaxial mount is mounted beside the primary weapon and thus points in the general direction as the main armament. The term coaxial is a misnomer as the arrangement is often actually paraxial, nearly all main battle tanks and most infantry fighting vehicles have a coaxial machine gun mounted to fire along a parallel axis to the main gun. Coaxial weapons are usually aimed by use of the gun control. It is usually used to infantry or other soft targets when the main gun collateral damage would be excessive. A fixed mount is not moveable with respect to the vehicle, the vehicle must move in order to change direction of fire. Fixed mounts are most commonly found on aircraft, and most commonly direct the forward, along the aircrafts vector of movement, so that a pilot could aim. Some minor aircraft designs used different concept of fixed mounts, as found in Schräge Musik or AC-47 Spooky, a pintle mount is a fixed mount that allows the gun to be freely traversed and/or elevated while keeping the gun in one fixed position. It is most commonly found on armoured vehicles, gunner stations on bomber aircraft, unlike a turret, a pintle has little or no armour protection. A swing mount is a mount that allows a far greater. Utilising a system of one or two articulated arms the gunner can swing the weapon through a wide arc even though the position is fixed relative to the mount
36.
Anti-tank warfare
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Anti-tank warfare arose as a result of the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the first tanks were developed by the Triple Entente in 1916 but not operated in battle until 1917, because tanks represent an enemys land greatest force projection, anti-tank warfare has been incorporated into the doctrine of nearly every combat service since. Most predominant anti-tank weapons at the start of World War II were the gun, anti-tank guns. Through the Cold War, The United States, Soviet Union, while previous technology was developed to protect crews of armored vehicles from projectiles and explosive damage, the possibility of radiation arose. In the NATO countries little if any development took place on defining a doctrine of how to use armed forces without the use of nuclear weapons. The solution they arrived at was maneuver warfare while massively increasing the number of anti-tank weapons and this led to the development of improved guided anti-tank missiles, though similar design work was being performed in Western Europe and the United States. Also being developed were new varieties of artillery munitions in the form of top-attack shells, helicopters could be used as well to rapidly deliver scattered anti-tank mines. Anti-tank warfare evolved as a countermeasure to the threat of the appearance on the battlefields of the Western Front of the First World War. The tank had been developed to negate the German system of trenches, however, there was no means of communication between the tanks crew and the accompanying infantry, or between the tanks participating in combat. Radios were not yet portable or robust enough to be mounted in a tank, attaching a field telephone to the rear would become a practice only during the next war. The early tanks were mechanically rudimentary, the 0. 23-to-0. 47-inch thick armor generally prevented penetration by small arms fire and shell fragments. However, even a near miss from field artillery or an impact from a mortar HE round easily disabled the tank, or destroyed it if the tank was ruptured. This was achieved by mounting a QF6 pounder Hotchkiss light 57 mm naval gun mounted in the hull barbettes, turrets were later introduced on medium and light tanks to react to ambushes during the advance. The tank, when it appeared on the Western Front in September 1916, was a surprise to the German troops. The French Army Staff was highly critical of the British Armys early fielding of the Mark I vehicles in small numbers because the French trials showed the armored vehicles to be highly unreliable. They judged that large numbers had to be employed to sustain an offensive despite losses to mechanical failure or vehicles being foundered in intractable no mans land terrain. These losses, coupled with those from enemy fire, later amounted to as high as 70% of the starters during some operations. Deploying small numbers of tanks would therefore cause the Allies to lose the element of surprise, because the German Army was the only force in need of anti-tank weapons, it was they that had to develop a viable technology to combat the tank
37.
M231 Firing Port Weapon
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The M231 Firing Port Weapon is an adapted version of the M16 assault rifle for firing from ports on the M2 Bradley. The infantrys normal M16s are too long for use in a buttoned up APC, designed by the Rock Island Arsenal, the M231 FPW remains in service, although all but the rear two firing ports on the Bradley have been removed. Work started in 1972 on a dedicated Firing Port Weapon to go along with the Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle program also started at that time. A requirement for vehicles was to have firing ports for troops riding inside. The qualities of the last weapon made it most promising, Colt was given the contract and continued to work on the design, and by 1979 the finalized weapon was adopted as the M231. The M231 is different in many ways from a standard M16, the original RIA FPW fired from an open bolt, with an extremely high rate of firing. The Colt XM231 introduced a special buffer and spring assembly, with three springs nested one within the other, the original RIA FPW had an 11-inch barrel, while the Colt prototypes and the production M231 both had 15.6 inch barrels. Later this was dropped, and a new hand-guard introduced with a screw type locking mechanism to fix the weapon into the port, late XM231s had no rear sights either. Likewise the intended mechanism to bring down the rate had been removed from the design again thus bringing the rate of fire back up to a rate of 1. These weapons are capable of fully automatic fire, with a special side plate mounted inside the lower receiver. These weapons retain a 65% commonality with standard M16 rifles, only the M196 tracer round was authorized for operational use, with the M199 dummy and M200 blank for training use. In an emergency M193 ball ammunition was to be used, the heavier M855 ball and M856 tracer rounds were never to be used. Officially the FPW was not to be used detached from the parent vehicle, the operators manual lists 4 precautions that would have to be taken to utilize the weapon outside of the vehicle. United States, Headquarters, Department of the Army, TM 9-1005-309-10, Operators Manual, Sub-machine Gun,5. 56mm, Port, Firing, M231. Washington, DC, Headquarters, Department of the Army,1997, aR-15 and M16 Chauchat-Ribeyrolles 1918 submachine gun List of individual weapons of the U. S
38.
LAV-25
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The LAV-25 is an eight-wheeled amphibious armored reconnaissance vehicle used by the United States Marine Corps and Canadian Army. It was built by General Dynamics Land Systems Canada and is based on the Swiss MOWAG Piranha I 8×8 family of armored fighting vehicles, GDLS also makes the LAV III armored vehicle that is based on MOWAG Piranha IIIH 8×8. During the 1980s, the US Marine Corps began looking for an armored vehicle to give their divisions greater mobility. They chose the Light Armored Vehicle based on the Swiss MOWAG Piranha and it entered service with the Marines in 1983. The U. S. Army was interested in these vehicles at the time, the U. S. Army did, however, borrow at least a dozen LAV-25s for use in the 82nd Airbornes, 73rd Cavalry Regiment for a Scout Platoon during the Gulf War. These LAV-25s were later returned to the Marine Corps after the Gulf War, the USMC ordered 758 vehicles of all variants. LAVs first saw combat during the Invasion of Panama in 1989, and continued service in the Gulf War, Iraq War, the LAV platform is planned to remain in service with the Marine Corps until 2035. Powered by a 6V53T Detroit Diesel turbo-charged engine, they are 4-wheel drive transferable to 8-wheel drive and these vehicles are also amphibious, meaning they have the ability to swim, but are limited to non-surf bodies of water. While engaged in operations, the maximum speed is approximately 12 km/h using equipped propellers. The current SLEP modifications will hinder or eliminate amphibious ops, typical land speeds are approximately 100 km/h in either 4- or 8-wheel drive, however, fuel economy decreases in 8-wheel drive. The vehicles operate on diesel fuel and they are equipped with a M242 Bushmaster 25 mm cannon, two M2407.62 mm machine guns, and two 4-barrel smoke grenade launchers located on the forward left and right sides of the turret. The crew is three, vehicle commander, gunner, and driver, and four passengers with combat gear, the LAV-25 is a lightly armored vehicle. The base model is protected by light gauge high hardness steel armor, varying in nominal thickness from 4.71 mm to 9.71 mm. Standard LAV fitted with a turret with 360° traverse, armed with an M24225 mm chain gun with 420 rounds of 25 mm ammunition, both M791 APDS-T and M792 HEI-T, of which half is ready for use. One hundred fifty rounds are ready for use from one stowage bin,60 from another stowage bin, the other 210 rounds are stowed elsewhere in the vehicle. A coaxial M240C machine gun is mounted alongside the M242, the Canadian Army uses an upgraded version of this chassis for its Coyote Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle. The vehicle has been many changes through the late 1990s. The new modification or SLEP has changed the LAV-25 to the LAV-25A1 standard and has been completely fielded, funding has been approved for continued upgrades to the LAV family to bring them up to the LAV-A2 standard
39.
Smoke grenade
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A smoke grenade is a canister-type grenade used as a signaling device, target or landing zone marking device, or as a screening device for unit movements. Smoke grenades generally emit a far larger amount of smoke than smoke bombs, smoke grenades often cost around US$40 compared to smoke bombs, which can often cost just a few cents. Typical design consists of a steel cylinder with four emission holes on top. The filler consists of 250 to 350 grams of colored smoke composition in any color. The reaction is exothermic and though they remain intact, smoke grenade casings will often remain scalding hot for some even after the grenade is no longer emitting smoke. Although modern smoke grenades are designed not to emit fire or sparks. Another type of smoke grenade is the bursting variation and these are filled with white phosphorus, a pyrophoric agent which is spread quickly into a cloud by an internal bursting charge. White phosphorus burns with a brilliant yellow flame, while producing copious amounts of white smoke, smoke grenades are used for several purposes. The primary use is the creation of smoke screens for concealment, the most common color for concealment smoke is white or grey. With the advent of infrared imaging goggles which can spot troop movements through smoke screens, smoke grenades can also be used to signal aircraft. Since locating a target from above can be impossible, even with good radio contact. Colored signalling smoke grenades are used in CASEVAC and close air support situations where quickly locating friendly ground forces is of paramount importance. Common colors are red, yellow, green and purple, since the basic design of a smoke grenade is so simple, improvised devices are ubiquitous across the world. Protestors, football spectators, and airsoft enthusiasts often create their own smoke grenades using common materials
40.
Grenade launcher
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A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The most common type are man-portable, shoulder-fired weapons issued to individuals, Grenade launchers can either come in the form of standalone weapons or attachments mounted to a parent firearm, usually a rifle. Larger crew-served automatic grenade launchers such as the Mk 19 are mounted on tripods or vehicles, some armored fighting vehicles also mount fixed arrays of short range, single-shot grenade launchers as a means of defense. These devices usually fire smoke grenades to conceal the vehicle behind a screen, though can also be loaded with chaff, flares. Vehicle-mounted smoke grenade launchers are known as smoke dischargers. The earliest devices which could conceivably be referred to as grenade launchers were slings, a new method of launching grenades was developed during the First World War and used throughout the Second. The disadvantage of this method is that when a soldier wants to launch a grenade, if they are surprised by a close-range threat while preparing to fire the grenade, they have to reverse the procedure before they can respond with rifle fire. Due to the lack of a barrel, rifle grenades also tend to be difficult to fire accurately compared to underbarrel or standalone designs. One of the first examples of a dedicated breech-loading launcher for unitary explosive grenade rounds was the M79 grenade launcher, the goal for the M79 was the production of a device with greater range than a rifle grenade but more portable than a mortar. Such single-shot devices were replaced in military service with underbarrel grenade launchers. Single shot launchers are still commonly used in riot control operations. This reduces the weight the soldier must carry by eliminating the grenade launchers buttstock, underbarrel 40mm grenade launchers generally have their own trigger group, to fire, one simply changes grips, disengages the safety, and pulls the trigger. In Western systems, the barrel slides forward or pivots to the side to allow reloading, soviet/Russian launchers are instead loaded from the muzzle, with the cartridge casing affixed to the projectile in the style of a mortar shell. Modern launchers often have the option of mounting more sophisticated aiming systems, such as ballistic rangefinders, one AAI submission for SPIW mounted a simple single-action, single-shot breech-loading underbarrel grenade launcher in lieu of the required semi-automatic multi-shot device. With refinement, this was adopted as the M203 grenade launcher in 1968, a variety of lengths of M203 are available along with numerous parts kits to fit it to various rifles aside from the AR15 pattern weapons it was designed for. A variant of the weapon, the M320 Grenade Launcher Module, was salvaged from the failed XM8 program. Further developments led to the GP series of grenade launchers, an automatic grenade launcher or grenade machine gun is a crew-served support weapon which fires explosive rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine
41.
Smoke screen
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A smoke screen is smoke released to mask the movement or location of military units such as infantry, tanks, aircraft or ships. Smoke screens are commonly deployed either by a canister or generated by a vehicle and these are canister-type grenades used as a ground-to-ground or ground-to-air signaling device. The body consists of a sheet metal cylinder with a few emission holes on top. In those that produce colored smoke, the filler consists of 250 to 350 grams of colored smoke mixture, in those that produce screening smoke, the filler usually consists of HC smoke mixture or TA smoke mixture. Another type of smoke grenade is filled with phosphorus, which is spread by explosive action. The phosphorus catches fire in the presence of air, and burns with a brilliant yellow flame, WP grenades double as incendiary grenades. Artillery and mortars can fire smoke generating munitions, and are the main means of generating tactical smokescreens on land. As with grenades, artillery shells are available as both emission type smoke shell, and bursting smoke shell, mortars nearly always use bursting smoke rounds because of the smaller size of mortar bombs and the greater efficiency of bursting rounds. Very large or sustained smoke screens are produced by a smoke generator and this machine heats a volatile material to evaporate it, then mixes the vapor with cool external air at a controlled rate so it condenses to a mist with a controlled droplet size. Cruder designs simply boiled waste oil over a heater, while more sophisticated ones sprayed a specially formulated oily composition through nozzles onto a heated plate. Choice of a oil, and careful control of cooling rate. This produces a very effective obscuration per weight of material used and this screen can then be sustained as long as the generator is supplied with oil, and—especially if a number of generators are used—the screen can build up to a considerable size. One 50 gallon drum of fog oil can obscure 60 miles of land in 15 minutes, whilst producing very large amounts of smoke relatively cheaply, these generators have a number of disadvantages. They are much slower to respond than pyrotechnic sources, and require a piece of equipment to be sited at the point of emission of the smoke. They are also heavy and not readily portable, which is a significant problem if the wind shifts. To overcome this problem they may be used in fixed posts widely dispersed over the battlefield. An example of the latter is the M56 Coyote generator, many armoured fighting vehicles can create smoke screens in a similar way, generally by injecting diesel fuel onto the hot exhaust. Warships have sometimes used a variation of the smoke generator
42.
Chaff (countermeasure)
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Modern armed forces use chaff to distract radar-guided missiles from their targets. Most military aircraft and warships have chaff dispensing systems for self-defense, an intercontinental ballistic missile may release in its midcourse phase several independent warheads as well as penetration aids such as decoy balloons and chaff. The idea of using chaff developed independently in the United Kingdom, Germany, an early idea was to use sheets the size of a notebook page, these would be printed so they would also serve as propaganda leaflets. However, it was found the most effective version used strips of black paper backed with foil, exactly 27 by 2 centimetres. The Head of the TRE, A. P. Rowe, meanwhile, in Germany, similar research had led to the development of Düppel. The German code name was that of the estate on which the first German tests with chaff had been made, circa 1942. Once the idea had been passed to the US via the Tizard Mission, Fred Whipple developed a system for dispensing strips for the USAAF, the systems were all essentially identical in concept, small aluminium strips cut to one-half of the target radars wavelength. When hit by the radar, such lengths of metal resonate and re-radiate the signal, opposing defences would find it almost impossible to distinguish the aircraft from the echoes caused by the chaff. Other radar-confusing techniques included Mandrel, Piperack, and Jostle and this caused concern in RAF Fighter Command and Anti-Aircraft Command, who managed to suppress the use of Window until July 1943. At this time, it was felt the new generation of centimetric radars available to Fighter Command would deal with any Luftwaffe response to RAF Bomber Command use. Bomber Harris, Commander-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command, finally got approval to use Window as part of Operation Gomorrah, the first aircrew trained to use Window were 76 squadron. Twenty-four crews were briefed on how to drop the bundles of aluminised-paper strips, one every minute through the flare chute, the radar guided master searchlights wandered aimlessly across the sky. The anti-aircraft guns fired randomly or not at all and the fighters, their radar displays swamped with false echoes. Over a week of attacks a vast area of Hamburg was devastated, resulting in more than 40,000 civilian deaths, squadrons quickly had special chutes fitted to their bombers to make the deployment even easier. Seeing this as a development that made it safer to go on operations, a lesser known fact is that the Luftwaffe used this technology just six weeks after the above-mentioned Hamburg raid. The German strips were cut into 80 centimetre by 1.9 centimetre lengths, in a series of raids in 1943, and the mini-blitz of Operation Steinbock between February and May 1944, Düppel allowed German bombers to once again attempt to operate over London. Although theoretically effective, the number of bombers, notably in relation to the RAFs now-large night fighter force. The British fighters were able to go aloft in large numbers, the Germans obtained better results during the air raid on Bari, on 2 December 1943, when Allied radars were effectively deceived by the use of Düppel strips
43.
Flare
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A flare, also sometimes called a fusee, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a brilliant light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for signalling, illumination, or defensive countermeasures in civilian, flares may be ground pyrotechnics, projectile pyrotechnics, or parachute-suspended to provide maximum illumination time over a large area. Projectile pyrotechnics may be dropped from aircraft, fired from rocket or artillery, the earliest recorded use of gunpowder for signalling purposes was the signal bomb used by the Song Dynasty Chinese as the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty besieged Yangzhou in 1276. These soft-shelled bombs, timed to explode in mid-air, were used to send messages to a detachment of troops far in the distance, another mention of the signal bomb appears in a text dating from 1293 requesting their collection from those still stored in Zhejiang. A signal gun appears in Korea by 1600, the Wu I Thu Phu Thung Chih or Illustrated Military Encyclopedia written in 1791 depicts a signal gun in an illustration. Flares produce their light through the combustion of a pyrotechnic composition, flares may be colored by the inclusion of pyrotechnic colorants. Calcium flares are used underwater to illuminate submerged objects, many in-service colored signal flares and spectrally balanced decoy flares contain perchlorate oxidizers. Perchlorate, a type of salt in its form, dissolves and moves rapidly in groundwater. Even in low concentrations in drinking water supplies, perchlorate is known to inhibit the uptake of iodine by the thyroid gland, for example, the US Environmental Protection Agency have studied the impacts of perchlorate on the environment as well as drinking water. California has also issued guidance regarding perchlorate use, US courts have taken action regarding the use of perchlorate in manufacturing pyrotechnic devices such as flares. In the civilian world, flares are used as signals. Flares are commonly found in survival kits. Red flares, either sent as a rocket or held in the hand, are recognized as a maritime distress signal. RMS Titanic however used rocket-launched distress shells to attract assistance, emitting white stars to a great height, another type of flare is the fusee, which burns for 10–60 minutes with a bright red light. Fusees are commonly used to indicate obstacles or advise caution on roadways at night, in this usage they are called highway flares, road flares. They are commonly found in emergency kits. Fusees are also known as flares and are commonly used to perform hand signals in rail transport applications. Since they can be used once, fusees nowadays are usually intended for emergency use
44.
Monocoque
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Monocoque, also structural skin, is a structural system where loads are supported through an objects external skin, similar to an egg shell. The word monocoque is a French term for single shell or single hull, a true monocoque carries both tensile and compressive forces within the skin and can be recognised by the absence of a load carrying internal frame. By contrast, a semi-monocoque is a combining a tensile stressed skin. Other semi-monocoques not to be confused with true monocoques include vehicle unibodies, which tend to be composites, early aircraft were constructed using frames, typically of wood or steel tubing, which could then be covered with fabric such as irish linen or cotton. The skin added nothing to the strength of the airframe and was dead weight beyond providing a smooth sealed surface. This reduced drag so effectively it was able to win most of the races it was entered into, however, it was prone to damage from moisture and delamination. While all metal aircraft from the Junkers firm had appeared as early as 1915, the first metal monocoques were built by Claudius Dornier, while working for Zeppelin-Lindau. After failed attempts with several large flying boats in which a few components were monocoques, the aluminum alloy monocoque chassis was first used in the 1962 Lotus 25 Formula 1 race car. The term monocoque is frequently misused when referring to unibody cars, in motor racing, the safety of the driver depends on the car body which must meet stringent regulations and a few cars have been built with monocoque structures. Tanks and other armored vehicles such as the German Fuchs 2 and this reduces weight for a given amount of armor compared to vehicles to which armor has been attached to an underlying frame. A monocoque-framed motorcycle was developed by the Spanish motorcycle manufacturer, Ossa, Ossa won four Grand Prix races with the monocoque bike before their rider was killed during the 1970 Isle of Man TT, causing the Ossa factory to withdraw from Grand Prix competition. Notable designers such as Eric Offenstadt and Dan Hanebrink created unique monocoque designs in the early 1970s, the 1973 Isle of Man TT was won by Peter Williams on the monocoque-framed Norton John Player Special that he helped design. Honda also experimented with a monocoque Grand Prix racing motorcycle named the NR500 in 1979, in 1987 John Britten developed the Aero-D One, featuring a composite monocoque chassis that weighed only 12 kg. The first time an aluminium monocoque frame appeared on a production motorcycle was the 2000 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R. This was Kawasakis flagship production sportbike aimed at being the fastest production motorcycle, various rockets have used pressure-stabilized monocoque designs, such as Atlas and Falcon 1. Balloon tanks are not true monocoques but act in the way as inflatable shells. A balloon tank skin only handles tensile forces while compression is resisted by internal pressure in a way similar to semi-monocoques braced by a solid frame. This becomes obvious when internal pressure is lost and the structure collapses, the Handle is an electric guitar characterized by its hollow sectioned monocoque chassis, created by the award-winning designer Peter Solomon
45.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
46.
General officer
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A general officer is an officer of high rank in the army, and in some nations air forces or marines. The term general is used in two ways, as the title for all grades of general officer and as a specific rank. It originates in the 16th century, as a shortening of captain general, the adjective general had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction. Today, the title of General is known in countries as a four-star rank. However different countries use different systems of stars for senior ranks and it has a NATO code of OF-9 and is the highest rank currently in use in a number of armies. The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure. Lower-ranking officers in military forces are typically known as field officers or field-grade officers. There are two systems of general ranks used worldwide. In addition there is a system, the Arab system of ranks. Variations of one form, the old European system, were used throughout Europe. It is used in the United Kingdom, from which it spread to the Commonwealth. The other is derived from the French Revolution, where ranks are named according to the unit they command. The system used either a general or a colonel general rank. The rank of marshal was used by some countries as the highest rank. Many countries actually used two brigade command ranks, which is why some countries now use two stars as their brigade general insignia, mexico and Argentina still use two brigade command ranks. As a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major, confusion arises because a lieutenant is outranked by a major. Originally the serjeant major was, exclusively, the commander of the infantry, junior only to the captain general, the distinction of serjeant major general only applied after serjeant majors were introduced as a rank of field officer. Serjeant was eventually dropped from both titles, creating the modern rank titles
Lebanon – 32 on order, 24 delivered.[24][25]
Saudi Arabia[3] – 400
United States
