Military Weapons

COAST GUARD SHIPS (Military Weapons)

Bear (WMEC 901) These 12 multipurpose cutters were designed to perform 14-day law enforcement patrols in areas out to 400 miles from base. Maximum normal at-sea endurance is 21 days. They have been criticized for being slow (although they match speeds with the similar-size Reliance-class cutters) and, despite fin stabilization, for riding poorly in heavy […]

AUXILIARY SHIPS (Military Weapons)

Edenton (ATS1) These British-built ships are the only oceangoing tugs in active Navy commission. The design features a long forecastle that breaks abaft the superstructure, little sheer, a shallow knuckle forward, large open work spaces forward and aft, and a transom stern. The clipper bow curves up to a prominent sheave, which has a 272-ton […]

AMPHIBIOUS SHIPS (Military Weapons)

Anchorage (LSD 36) These five Dock Landing Ships (LSD) were part of the large amphibious ship construction program of the early 1960s. They resemble the earlier Thomaston-c\3.ss (LSD 28) but have a prominent knuckle forward, a more rectangular superstructure profile, greater freeboard, and a more substantial helicopter landing area aft. The docking well is 430 […]

SHIPS/SUBMARINES (Military Weapons)

AIRCRAFT CARRIERS Enterprise (CVN 65) The Enterprise was the world’s second nuclear-powered surface warship and was the world’s largest and most expensive warship when she entered service in 1961. The Enterprise was built to a modified Kitty Hawk design and features a fully angled deck with two C13 steam catapults, two more catapults at the […]

STRATEGIC WARNING RADARS (Military Weapons)

The United States Air Force Space Command (AFSPACECOM) is tasked with providing warning of strategic and tactical ballistic missile warning. Although the threat of such a missile attack is more remote than ever, many missiles still remain in various stages of operational capability throughout the world. Therefore, USAF continues to operate radar and satellite systems […]

SONARS (Military Weapons)

ALPS The Airborne Low-Frequency System (ALFS) is a dipping sonar designed to replace the AN/AQS-13F on the SH-60F carrier-borne helicopters. It will also be installed on the SH-60B Seahawks that are part of the surface combatant Light missile test flights. Cobra Judy complements the Cobra Dane radar installed on Shemya Island in the Aleutians. The […]

NAVAL RADARS (Military Weapons)

BPS-15/BPS-16 This is a low-power, surface search and navigation radar fitted in US nuclear-propelled submarines. The antenna is a horn array with a 40-in (1.02-m) aperture. An update that improved the mechanical reliability ofthe radar mast resulted in the BPS-16. DEVELOPMENT • Initial operational capability in the early 1960s. Manufactured by Unisys, Great Neck, New […]

GROUND RADARS (Military Weapons)

MPQ-53 The AN/MPQ-53 is the multipurpose assembly of radars that is part of the Patriot Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) system. Emphasis is on real-time response, the ability to operate in a heavy Electronic Counter-measures (ECM) environment, and the flexibility to adapt to changing threats. During Patriot engagements in Saudi Arabia and Israel during Operation Desert Storm, […]

SENSORS AND ELECTRONIC WARFARE (Military Weapons)

AIRBORNE RADARS AAQ-13/AAQ-14 LANTIRN The LANTIRN (Low-Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared System for Night) is a two-pod system fitted to F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft. It can also be operated by any aircraft that has a MIL-STD-1553B digital databus/multiplexer. LANTIRN permits an aircraft to fly at very low levels at night or in […]

NAVAL MINES AND TORPEDOES (Military Weapons)

NAVAL MINES The US Navy lays mines principally from aircraft and submarines. There are no surface minelaying ships in the fleet, and very few ships are fitted for minelaying. Attempts to replace the mines described below have met with little success. Several programs begun in the 1980s and early 1990s, the most promising a joint […]

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