Featuring computer-generated color art and a directory of weapons, this in-depth guide is a must-read for anyone interested in military aviation. From America's unguided Mk 82 bomb to the Russian-Indian Brahmos supersonic cruise missile, it shows how weapons and pods are loaded onto major aircraft, and how they work together in battle. Organized by airplane type, the book includes annotations, numbered diagrams, top- and side-view illustrations, and photographs.

From the earliest days of aviation where the pilot would drop simple bombs by hand, to the highly agile, stealthy aircraft of today that can deliver smart ordnance with extreme accuracy, engineers have striven to develop the capability to deliver weapons against targets reliably, safely and with precision. Aircraft Systems Integration of Air-Launched Weapons introduces the various aspects of weapons integration, primarily from the aircraft systems integration viewpoint, but also considers key parts of the weapon and the desired interactions with the aircraft required for successful target engagement. Key features: Addresses the broad range of subjects that relate directly to the systems integration of air-launched weapons with aircraft, such as the integration process, system and subsystem architectures, the essential contribution that open, international standards have on improving interoperability and reducing integration costs and timescales Describes the recent history of how industry and bodies such as NATO have driven the need for greater interoperability between weapons and aircraft and worked to reduce the cost and timescales associated with the systems integration of complex air-launched weapons with aircraft Explores future initiatives and technologies relating to the reduction of systems integration costs and timescales The systems integration of air-launched weapons with aircraft requires a multi-disciplinary set of engineering capabilities. As a typical weapons integration life-cycle spans several years, new engineers have to learn the skills required by on-the-job training and working with experienced weapons integrators. Aircraft Systems Integration of Air-Launched Weapons augments hands-on experience, thereby enabling the development of subject matter expertise more quickly and in a broader context than would be achieved by working through the life-cycle on one specific project. This book also serves as a useful revision source for experienced engineers in the field.

The Essential Weapon Identification Guide: Postwar Air Weapons is a highly illustrated guide to the air-launched weapons used by the world's armed forces since World War II, outlining their capabilities, deployment, and use in combat. This compact volume includes every major weapon currently employed by the world's air forces today, from the 250-pound (113-kg) Small Diameter Bomb employed by US forces in Afghanistan, to the Russian/Indian Brahmos cruise missile currently being tested.Also featured are major types in use since World War II, including the US Tomahawk cruise missile and the Soviet-era AA-6 Acrid air-to-air missile. Organized by type of weapon and within this by country of origin, the book offers a comprehensive survey of air-launched weaponry in the modern era, including examples produced by the US, Russia, China, Sweden, the UK and France. Individual sections detail the weapons used by forces fighting in current and recent conflicts including Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and Georgia. All the key air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons are featured, including variations of the AIM-9 Sidewinder, the various types of JDAM employed by US forces, and a wide range of Russian guided missiles and bombs.Also featured are the various ECM, targeting and navigation pods which form a key part of modern air warfare. Packed with more than 200 full-color artworks and photographs with exhaustive specifications, The Essential Weapon Identification Guide: Modern Air-Launched Weapons is a key reference guide for military modelers and aviation enthusiasts.

Underground facilities are used extensively by many nations to conceal and protect strategic military functions and weapons' stockpiles. Because of their depth and hardened status, however, many of these strategic hard and deeply buried targets could only be put at risk by conventional or nuclear earth penetrating weapons (EPW). Recently, an engineering feasibility study, the robust nuclear earth penetrator program, was started by DOE and DOD to determine if a more effective EPW could be designed using major components of existing nuclear weapons. This activity has created some controversy about, among other things, the level of collateral damage that would ensue if such a weapon were used. To help clarify this issue, the Congress, in P.L. 107-314, directed the Secretary of Defense to request from the NRC a study of the anticipated health and environmental effects of nuclear earth-penetrators and other weapons and the effect of both conventional and nuclear weapons against the storage of biological and chemical weapons. This report provides the results of those analyses. Based on detailed numerical calculations, the report presents a series of findings comparing the effectiveness and expected collateral damage of nuclear EPW and surface nuclear weapons under a variety of conditions.

A weapon, arm, or armament is any device used with intent to inflict damage or harm to living beings, structures, or systems. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as crime, law enforcement, self-defense, and warfare. In a broader context, weapons may be construed to include anything used to gain a strategic, material or mental advantage over an adversary. While just about any ordinary objects such as sticks, stones, cars, or pencils can be used as weapons, many are expressly designed for the purpose – ranging from simple implements such as clubs, swords and guns, and to complicated modern intercontinental ballistic missiles, biological and cyberweapons. This book has been written keeping in view the requirements of undergraduate and postgraduate students and research scholars in the area of weapons and warfare and Military history.