RSS Feed Lockheed Martin Hellfire II fire and forget missile“Can be launched from multiple air, sea, and ground platforms, autonomously or with remote designation. HELLFIRE II is a highly successful, combat-proven weapon system for precision kill of high-value armor, air defense, ships, waterborne, and fixed targets. The missile may be employed by lock-on before or lock-on after launch for increased platform survivability.”
The new Hellfire II is the improved Hellfire missile that comes in three variants depending on the target. The Hellfire II can be launched from sea, air, and land making it very versatile. These missiles are highly effective against enclosed spaces such as ships or bunkers. The missiles are designed to minimize collateral damage and maximize explosive capability with its metal augmented charge (MAC) technology.
Check out this Hellfire missile video that shows a blast-fragmentaion warhead penetrating an armor plate.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Hellfire 2 - Fire and Forget Missile
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Military Hovercraft - LCAC
The LCAC, short for Landing Craft Air-Cushioned, is the beastly hovercraft used by the United States Marine Corps. This ship is designed to transport supplies, vehicles, and troops to the shore from a Wasp class assault ship or other dock-landing/amphibious cargo ships participating in an amphibious assault. These huge hovercraft can travel at up to 40 knots (46 mph), and have 2 machine gun emplacements and additional weapon mounting stations that can support additional machine guns or 40 mm grenade launchers. There really isn’t a huge demand for armaments on this ship, as it will hit the shores after the EFVs and long after initial bombardment from maritime strike fighters such as the Harrier jump-jet or the new F35 Lightning.
M4 - M4A1 Carbine - Modern Warfare
If I hark back to the days of the Wild Wild West, during the heydays of American machismo otherwise known as Manifest Destiny, I can only think of the ever popular shoot out. The quick and dead, the fast draws, the lawlessness, and the cowboys. Don’t be misled about the speed of the draw though, the quickest isn’t always the victor, one must be on target to be left standing alive. What a timeless lesson we’ve learned.
Today on the battlefield, many people are killed by rifles of various design. Fortunately, most people are killed by the well-designed weapons employed by the US Military. When the US Army rolled into Baghdad, the Iraqis were dumbfounded at how they lost nearly every engagement with small arms, quite frequently suffering center mass and head shot wounds. They were not only just slow on the draw, but couldn’t hit a target either. Instead of relying on a red dot sight and a light weight composite firearm, they used the “spray and pray” method, which usually got them killed. Speed and Accuracy: Introducing the M4A1 Carbine manufactured by Colt Firearms. A Carbine is essentially the same design as a rifle, but with a shorter barrel. The M4 is closely based on the Armalite AR-15 design, but modified to enhance ergonomics, aiming, and speed of use. Ideal for close-quarter combat, this firearm tilts the scale towards life for the war-fighter wielding this weapon.
The Future weapons
Russian Tank Forces - T90 Technology
The Russians desperately needed to mount a response after the 1991 Gulf War, when the Americans stormed through the deserts of Kuwait and Iraq. The Russian economy’s defense sector was reeling, after the American military’s Abrams M1A1 Main Battle Tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles left the battlefield littered with literally hundreds of burnt-out and charred carcasses of once mighty Russian T-72 and T-80 tanks. As if the Russians weren’t already in bad enough shape after the collapse of the Soviet Union, now the international image of their largest defense export, the T-72 tank, and their newest model, the T-80, as no more than a flaming hulk of metal on the battlefield. Not good PR for the largest weapons exporter in the world. Something had to be done. The Russian’s solution: rename the tanks. By combining elements of the T-72 and T-80 together, the Russians were able to create the T-90, and have successfully duped the market ever since.
Despite the fact that the T-90s design aspects are nothing new, the newest production models do include some major upgrades to the existing designs. A new gun being one of the biggest improvements, the newest T-90s coming off the lines can be fitted with Explosive Reactive Armor, laser rangefinders, an electromagnetic pulse generator to combat magnetic mines, and laser warning recievers. There is also a new type of radar jamming system to scramble the guidance of incoming radar-guided anti-tank missiles. Basically, you get early 70’s mechanics with 90’s electronics.
Don’t get me wrong though, Russia’s output capacity for producing these tanks can skyrocket if they wish it to. Never forget the inferior US Sherman tanks swarming the superior German Tigers. Technical sophistacation found with the likes of Western MBTs such as the German Leopard, French Leclerc, British Challenger 2, and the American Abrams M1, are expensive and time-consuming to produce and repair, while the Russians have never shown a sensitivity to losses in great numbers of mass-produced war machinery