FYBAF (A)
2009-2010
INDEX
India does not possess chemical or biological weapons of mass
destruction. India does possess nuclear weaponsand maintains short- and
intermediate-range ballistic missiles, nuclear-capable aircraft, surface
ships, and submarines under development as possible delivery systems
and platforms. Although it lacks an operational ballistic missile submarines
India has ambitions of possessing a nuclear triad in the near future
when INS Arihant the lead ship of India's Arihant class of nuclear-powered
submarines formally joins the Indian Navy in 2012 after undergoing
extensive sea-trials. Though Indiahas not made any official statements
about the size of its nuclear arsenal, estimates suggest that India has
between 40 and 95 nuclear weapons,[2][3] consistent with estimates that it
has produced enough weapons-grade plutonium for up to 75-110 nuclear
weapons.[4] Production of weapons-grade plutonium production is believed
to be taking place at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, which is home
to the CIRUS reactor acquired fromCanada, to the indigenous Dhruva
reactor, and to aplutonium separation facility.
India is not a signatory to the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT),
which India argues entrenches the status quo of the existing nuclear
weapons states whilst preventing general nuclear disarmament.[5] India
tested a nuclear device in 1974 (code-named "Smiling Buddha"), which it
called a "peaceful nuclear explosive." The test used plutonium produced in
the Canadian-supplied CIRUS reactor, and raised concerns that nuclear
technology supplied for peaceful purposes could be diverted to weapons
purposes. This also stimulated the early work of the Nuclear Suppliers
Group.[6] India performed further nuclear tests in 1998 (code-named
"Operation Shakti"), including a claimed experimental thermonuclear device
whose yield is in dispute.[7]
Panzer Howitzer 2000
The German army's 55-ton self-propelled howitzer (Panzerhaubitze 2000) is the
world's most advanced cannon artillery system. It’s awesome striking power comes
from its quick-firing 155mm gun, capable of rapid burst barrages ranging from
three rounds in 10 seconds to 20 rounds in three minutes. The only constraint on
maintaining this rate of fire is overheating, but the gun barrel's innovative
chromium lining greatly minimizes this problem.
Priming, loading and clearing artillery rounds is completely automated. With
conventional shells, the maximum range of the gun is about 18 miles, but with
enhanced, "smart" rounds the effective range increases to an astonishing 34 miles.
The howitzer has excellent cross-country performance -- it posts a top off-road
speed of nearly 30 mph -- and a high level of armor protection for the crew.
Corner Shot 40
Combining a swivel barrel with a video sighting array, this aptly named weapons
system allows the operator to observe and fire at a target around corners without
exposing himself to enemy fire. The barrel can rotate up to 63 degrees to the left or
right, and the video/thermal imaging feed can be transmitted to team members.
In the latest version (shown here), the weapon is fitted with a 40mm grenade
launcher, but the stock and mount can actually accept a range of small arms types,
including 9mm handguns, the M-16 and smoke grenade launchers. Its Israeli
designers and other experts see great potential for the weapon in anti-terrorist
operations.
Barrett M107 Rifle
The classic high-powered sniper rifle used by the U.S. military, the M107 rifle
(formerly the M82) was first used by American forces in Operation Desert Storm.
The M107 fires the hugely powerful .50 caliber ammunition that has long been used
as the standard round for heavy machine guns.
With an effective range of over 1,500 meters (approximately 5,000 feet) and
incredible knockdown power, the rifle has proved effective against many types of
targets, including enemy personnel, vehicles and parked aircraft. The standard-
issue M107 comes with a 10X telescopic sight and bipod, which together greatly
enhance accurate fire. The gun's superb design minimizes recoil, while its 10-round
semi-automatic action lets the shooter lock in on a target through multiple trigger
pulls.
Metal Storm
Potentially the world's most powerful automatic weapon, Metal Storm uses a system
that combines gun barrel and magazine, so that the only moving parts are the
projectiles themselves. Other automatic weapons have a magazine with bullets that are
mechanically loaded into the barrel, but in the Metal Storm weapon, ammunition is
preloaded and stacked in the combined barrel/magazine.
The bullets are fired electrically to generate a torrent of lethal force (up to thousands of
rounds per second), especially with systems using a multibarreled configuration. This
technology can be used for all types of munitions, and with no other moving parts,
jamming is never a problem. Seen above is Metal Storm's remote-controlled Redback
40mm weapon system, recently introduced as a devastating counter to all types of
threats.
Thermobaric Bomb
With a name drawn from the combination of the Greek words for "heat" and
"pressure," these bombs combine the power of both forces to greatly expand the
potential for destroying more inaccessible targets. Although the term "thermobaric"
is often used for a wide variety of enhanced explosive devices, its most accurately
used to describe bombs that mix a monopropellant fuel explosive with some type of
highly combustible, energetic particle such as powdered aluminum.
The result is an intense concentrated fireball combined with devastating blast
overpressure. Thermobaric bombs are ideal weapons for packing massed heat and
pressure into a tight space, either to limit collateral damage or reach targets deep
underground.
EMP Bomb
Decades ago, during high altitude nuclear weapons tests, one of the blast effects
observed by military scientists was a strong electromagnetic pulse (EMP) capable of
disabling many types of electrical equipment. It was quickly recognized as a potent
weapon on its own and today it is seen -- in a non-nuclear form -- as an effective
and devastating component of a superpower's arsenal.
In less than a nanosecond after generation, an EMP can radiate in all directions and
induce heavy currents that will overload and fry the circuitry of almost all electronic
components. Such an effect can instantaneously paralyze both military targets and
civilian centers by disabling vital electronic systems. This diagram (above),
produced by Australian engineer Dr. Carlo Kopp, shows the hypothetical battlefield
use of a limited range EMP bomb. There are unconfirmed reports that American
forces used such a weapon in the 1991 Gulf War and again in 2003 against Iraqi
targets.
LRAD Weapon
Loud, annoying noises have been a "weapon" at the personal level for millennia, but
recently the world's security and military forces have been using a far more potent
sonic weapon known as the "long range acoustic device" or LRAD. Just less than 3
feet in diameter and weighing 45 pounds, the black circular device emits an intense
15- to 30-degree-wide acoustic beam -- a high-pitched shrill tone similar to a
smoke detector alarm -- that can easily cause permanent auditory damage at close
range.
At 100 yards, the LRAD beam is extremely painful, but it is typically used at ranges
of 300 to 500 yards as a warning or deterrent weapon. LRAD's are used by the U.S.
Navy and Coast Guard to warn off approaching vessels, and the weapon has been
tested in Iraq in various capacities.
Airborne Laser
In an initiative reaching back to the Cold War, the U.S. Missile Command and the
U.S Air Force are jointly continuing research and development on an airborne laser
(ABL) weapon. Their plans call for mounting a powerful chemical oxygen iodine
laser in a turret-like array on the nose of specially modified Boeing 747-400 air
freighters.
The ABL's primary mission will be to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles by heating
up the target's metallic "skin" to a point where flight stress will cause it to weaken
and eventually break up (depicted in the artist's rendition above). Using infrared
sensors to pick up ascending enemy missiles, the ABL system would then fire a
three- to five-second laser burst to bring down each target. Successful ground tests
have already demonstrated the lasers' killing power and the Air Force hopes to have
an operational airborne version sometime after 2008.
Excalibur
Belonging to the new class of so-called "Precision Guided Extended Range Artillery
Projectiles", the XM982 Excalibur artillery round is the U.S Army's newest fire-and-
forget, smart munitions. Excalibur projectiles combine a "hardened" GPS-assisted
guidance system with stabilizer fins and rockets to strike farther and far more
accurately than conventional artillery rounds.
The projectiles can carry a range of payloads, including dual-purpose improved
conventional munitions, sensor fuzed munitions (seen above with "smart" bomblets
deploying), and a unitary (anti-armor) warhead. With its innovative internal
guidance system, the Excalibur can descend on its targets at a much higher angle,
giving it the precision to hit a preselected 10-meter-wide area after a flight of over
25 miles.
Ensor Fuzed Weapon
A much improved version of the standard cluster bomb, the sensor fuzed weapon
(formally the CBU-97) uses "smart" bomblets to spread destruction across
battlefields with precise strikes on multiple enemy targets. The CBU-97 is actually a
bomb-like canister (above, inset) containing 10 cylindrical canisters (called "sub
munitions") that each hold four "smart" hockey puck-shaped "skeet" bomblets,
giving a total of 40 bomblets per weapon.
As shown in the diagram above, just after the main canister is released, its skin
opens ("A" on the diagram), deploying the 10 submunitions each with its own
parachute. At a preset altitude, the parachutes are jettisoned (B) and rockets in the
submunition canisters (C) lift them up and then spin to disperse the skeet bomblets
(D). Infrared sensors in the bomblets then search for targets that are taken out
with small powerful warheads (E).
MOAB Bomb
The most massive conventional weapon in the U.S. arsenal, the Massive Ordnance
Air Blast bomb (the GBU-43/B) weighs 21,000 pounds and carries nine tons of H-6
explosive. With such mass and size -- its 30 feet long and nearly 4 feet across --
the bomb can only be deployed from the spacious rear door of cargo aircraft.
The MOAB uses a GPS system to guide it to targets, but with a lethal blast radius of
400 feet, it can hardly be considered a precision weapon. Pound for pound it is far
less effective than multiple, smaller yield bombs, but the psychological effects --
which include an extensive blast wave and a nuclear bomb-like mushroom cloud --
are incomparably terrifying.
SWORDS Weaponized Robot
What it is: Imagine a soldier that doesn’t eat, doesn’t sleep and as it lines you up for a kill, you
can't even look into its eyes and plead for mercy. This is SWORDS: The world’s first
weaponized robot and what Time magazine called, “One of the greatest inventions of the 21st
century. ... It can be outfitted with everything from a machine gun to a rocket or grenade
launcher, seriously violating Asimov’s three laws of robotics."
What it does: The three-foot 100-pound robot can climb stairs, go underwater at a depth of 100
feet and navigate through snow, sand and rock at the same pace as a running soldier. It can
see in the dark, has infrared vision and its two zoom cameras are so detailed they can pick up
the name on your nametag and see whether your weapon is cocked from 1,000 feet away. The
SWORDS is operated from a computer remote control posted at a distance of 15 football fields.
Why war needs it: Even though it’s not smart enough to replace soldiers on the battlefield
completely, since it is still operated by remote control, SWORDS can execute missions too
dangerous for humans with its operator at a safe and undetectable distance from the action.
Active duty: In 2007, three TALON SWORDS robots were deployed on missions in Iraq.
SIG556® ER
SIG556® ER features a 16” military grade cold hammer forged barrel, chambered
in 5.56mm NATO, with a twist rate of 1 in 7”. The flash suppressor uses a
standard .5 x 28 TPI thread pattern, ensuring compatibility with after-market
accessories. The forearm housing the gas operating system is a vented non-slip
polymer featuring the SIG TriRail design with three integrated Pica tinny rails for
mounting accessories. The optional flip up front combat sight is adjustable for
windage and elevation. The Pica tinny rail equipped receiver is made of high
strength steel with a durable wear-resistant Nitron® finish. The Pica tinny rail
features an optional flip up rear sight that works in concert with the optional front
combat sight, providing iron sight performance and a back up sight option for
optics. The trigger housing is machined from an aircraft grade aluminum alloy
forging with a hard-coat anodized finish designed to survive extreme conditions.
The rifle comes equipped with a smooth two-stage trigger, ambidextrous safety and
is designed to accept standard AR magazines. A 30-round magazine is supplied with
each rifle. The collapsible buttstock features a rubber butt pad, multiple sling
attachment points, and a waterproof battery compartment. The ergonomically
designed pistol grip features an integrated storage compartment. Select versions
feature a folding stock with the ability to collapse, providing the best of both
worlds.
