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Mk82
The Mark 82 (Mk 82) is an unguided, low- drag general-purpose bomb, part of the United States Mark 80 series. The explosive filling is usually tritonal, though other compositions have sometimes been used. Development and deployment With a nominal weight of , it is one of the smallest in current service, and one of the most common air-dropped weapons in the world. Although the Mk 82's nominal weight is 500 lb, its actual weight varies depending on its configuration, from . It is a streamlined steel casing containing of Tritonal high explosive. The Mk 82 is offered with a variety of fin kits, fuzes, and retarders for different purposes. The Mk 82 is the warhead for the GBU-12 laser-guided bombs and for the GBU-38 JDAM. Currently only the General Dynamics plant in Garland, Texas and Nitro-Chem in Bydgoszcz, Poland are Department of Defense-certified to manufacture bombs for the US Armed Forces. The Mk 82 is currently undergoing a minor red ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any vessel or a particular vessel type, akin to anti-infantry vs. anti-vehicle mines. Naval mines can be used offensively, to hamper enemy shipping movements or lock vessels into a harbour; or defensively, to protect friendly vessels and create "safe" zones. Mines allow the minelaying force commander to concentrate warships or defensive assets in mine-free areas giving the adversary three choices: undertake an expensive and time-consuming minesweeping effort, accept the casualties of challenging the minefield, or use the unmined waters where the greatest concentration of enemy firepower will be encountered. Although international law requires signatory nations to declare mined areas, precise locations remain secret; and non-complying individ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unguided Bomb
An unguided bomb, also known as a free-fall bomb, gravity bomb, dumb bomb, or iron bomb, is a conventional or nuclear aircraft-delivered bomb that does not contain a guidance system and hence simply follows a ballistic trajectory. This described all aircraft bombs in general service until the latter half of World War II, and the vast majority until the late 1980s. Then, with the dramatically increased use of precision-guided munitions, a retronym was needed to separate "smart bombs" from free-fall bombs. "Dumb bomb" was used for a time, but many military circles felt it sounded too trite, and eventually "gravity bomb" gained popularity. Bomb casings for unguided bombs are typically aerodynamic in shape, often with fins at the tail section, which reduce drag and increase stability after release, both of which serve to improve accuracy and consistency of trajectory. Unguided bombs typically use a contact fuze for detonation upon impact, or some milliseconds after if a penetration ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General-purpose Bomb
A general-purpose bomb is an air-dropped bomb intended as a compromise between blast damage, penetration, and fragmentation in explosive effect. They are designed to be effective against enemy troops, vehicles, and buildings. Characteristics General-purpose (GP) bombs use a thick-walled metal casing with explosive filler (typically TNT, Composition B, or Tritonal in NATO or United States service) comprising about 30% to 40% of the bomb's total weight. The British term for a bomb of this type is "medium case" or "medium capacity" (MC). The GP bomb is a common weapon of fighter bomber and attack aircraft because it is useful for a variety of tactical applications and relatively cheap. General-purpose bombs are often identified by their weight (e.g., ). In many cases this is strictly a ''nominal weight'' (the counterpart to the ''caliber'' of a firearm), and the actual weight of each individual weapon may vary depending on its retardation, fusing, carriage, and guidance syst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joint Stand-Off Weapon
The AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) is a glide bomb that resulted from a joint venture between the United States Navy and Air Force to deploy a standardized medium range precision guided weapon, especially for engagement of defended targets from outside the range of standard anti-aircraft defenses, thereby increasing aircraft survivability and minimizing friendly losses. The designation of the ''Joint Standoff Weapon'' as an "air-to-ground missile" is a misnomer, as it is an unpowered bomb with guidance avionics, similar to the older GBU-15. Development The JSOW is a fire-and-forget weapon that employs a tightly coupled GPS/INS for navigation, and is capable of day/night and adverse weather operations. The JSOW-C adds an infra-red seeker for terminal guidance. Originally the JSOW was developed by Defense Systems & Electronics division of Texas Instruments. After a first flight, funded by the company in April 1991, a joint program between the US Navy and the US Air Force wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polymer Bonded Explosive
Polymer-bonded explosives, also called PBX or plastic-bonded explosives, are explosive materials in which explosive powder is bound together in a matrix using small quantities (typically 5–10% by weight) of a synthetic polymer. PBXs are normally used for explosive materials that are not easily melted into a casting, or are otherwise difficult to form. PBX was first developed in 1952 at Los Alamos National Laboratory, as RDX embedded in polystyrene with dioctyl phthalate plasticizer. HMX compositions with teflon-based binders were developed in 1960s and 1970s for gun shells and for Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) seismic experiments, although the latter experiments are usually cited as using hexanitrostilbene (HNS). Potential advantages Polymer-bonded explosives have several potential advantages: * If the polymer matrix is an elastomer (rubbery material), it tends to absorb shocks, making the PBX very insensitive to accidental detonation, and thus ideal for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cruciform
Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform architecture. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross, with arms of equal length or, later, a cross-in-square plan. In the Western churches, a cruciform architecture usually, though not exclusively, means a church built with the layout developed in Gothic architecture. This layout comprises the following: *An east end, containing an altar and often with an elaborate, decorated window, through which light will shine in the early part of the day. *A west end, which sometimes contains a baptismal font, being a large decorated bowl, in which water can be firstly, blessed (dedicated to the use and purposes of God) and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Persian Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: Operation Desert Shield, which marked the military buildup from August 1990 to January 1991; and Operation Desert Storm, which began with the aerial bombing campaign against Iraq on 17 January 1991 and came to a close with the American-led Liberation of Kuwait on 28 February 1991. On 2 August 1990, Iraq invaded the neighbouring State of Kuwait and had fully occupied the country within two days. Initially, Iraq ran the occupied territory under a puppet government known as the "Republic of Kuwait" before proceeding with an outright annexation in which Kuwaiti sovereign territory was split, with the "Saddamiyat al-Mitla' District" being carved out of the country's northern portion and the "Kuwait Governorate" covering the rest. Varying specu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cooking Off
Cooking off (or thermally induced firing) is unfired weapon ammunition exploding prematurely due to heat in the surrounding environment. The term is used both for detonation of ammunition not loaded into a weapon, and unintended firing of a loaded weapon due to heating. A fast cook-off is a cook-off caused by fire. A slow cook-off is caused by a sustained thermal event less intense than fire. A cooked-off round may cause a sympathetic detonation of adjacent rounds. Insensitive munitions are designed to be less vulnerable to accidental firing induced by external heat. Artillery Inherent design flaws in early 17th century Swedish leather cannons led to the gun tube overheating which prematurely ignited the gunpowder, injuring the loader. Muzzle-loading cannon on merchant and naval vessels of the Age of Sail would fire if the vessels caught fire while the guns were loaded. Examples include the merchantman and . After the cooking off of artillery shells in the G5 howitzer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1967 USS Forrestal Fire
On 29 July 1967, a fire broke out on board the aircraft carrier after an electrical anomaly caused a Zuni rocket on an F-4B Phantom to fire, striking an external fuel tank of an A-4 Skyhawk. The flammable jet fuel spilled across the flight deck, ignited, and triggered a chain reaction of explosions that killed 134 sailors and injured 161. At the time, ''Forrestal'' was engaged in combat operations in the Gulf of Tonkin, during the Vietnam War. The ship survived, but with damage exceeding US$72 million, not including the damage to aircraft. Future United States Senator John McCain and future four-star admiral and U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Ronald J. Zlatoper were among the survivors. Another on-board officer, Lieutenant Tom Treanore, later returned to the ship as its commander and retired an admiral. The disaster prompted the Navy to revise its fire fighting practices. It also modified its weapon handling procedures and installed a deck wash down system on all carriers. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weapon System Safety
The United States Navy formed the Weapon System Explosives Safety Review Board (WSESRB) in 1968 as a result of the tragic fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ... on the USS ''Forrestal'' (CV-59). The subsequent investigation recommended an independent review process be established. The report highlighted the need to ensure explosives safety requirements are met for all munitions introduced to the Fleet. As a result, the WSESRB was established. WSESRB participate in numerous weapons system safety-related meetings, technical reviews, and working groups. The US Air Force and US Army have parallel boards to the Navy's WSESRB: the AF Nonnuclear Munitions Safety Board (NNMSB) and the Army Weapon Systems Safety Review Board (AWSSRB) Areas reviewed by weapon boards incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of its active battle fleet alone exceeding the next 13 navies combined, including 11 allies or partner nations of the United States as of 2015. It has the highest combined battle fleet tonnage (4,635,628 tonnes as of 2019) and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, two new carriers under construction, and five other carriers planned. With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve, the United States Navy is the third largest of the United States military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 290 deployable combat vessels and more than 2,623 operational aircraft . The United States Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
