weapon

weapon

A weapon is a tool used to apply or threaten to apply force for the purpose of hunting, attack or defense in combat, subduing enemy personnel, or to destroy enemy weapons, equipment and defensive structures. A weapon is therefore a device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. In general, they can be defined as the simplest mechanisms that use mechanical advantage(also called leverage) to multiply force.

In attack, weapons may be used to threaten by direct contact or by use of projectiles. Weapons can be as simple as a club, or as complex as an intercontinental ballistic missile. Metaphorically speaking, anything capable of causing damage, even psychologically, can be referred to as a weapon. More recently, non-lethal weapons have been developed for para-military, security and even combat use, designed to incapacitate personnel and reduce collateral damage to property and environment

Early modern period weapons

The Renaissance marked the beginning of the implementation of firearms in warfare, with the introduction of guns and rockets to the battlefield.

Firearms are qualitatively different from earlier weapons because they store energy in a combustible propellant such as gunpowder, rather than in a weight or spring. This energy is released quite rapidly, and can be restored without much effort by the user, so that even early firearms such as the arquebus were much more powerful than human-powered weapons. They became increasingly important and effective during the 16th century to 19th century (especially during the 1700s when many European nations began to forge empires, some of which survived until halfway through the 1900s, just going to show how major a development firearms were), with progressive improvements in ignition mechanisms followed by revolutionary changes in ammunition handling and propellant. During the U.S. Civil War various technologies including the machine gun and ironclad warship emerged that would be recognizable and useful military weapons today, particularly in lower-technology conflicts. In the 19th century warship propulsion changed from sail power to fossil fuel-powered steam engines.

The age of edged weapons ended abruptly just before World War I with rifled artillery, such as howitzerswhich were able to destroy any masonry fortress, as well as destroy other fortifications. This single invention caused a revolution in military affairs and doctrines that continues to this day. See Technology during World War I for a detailed discussion.

An important feature of industrial age warfare was technological escalation - an innovation could, and would, be rapidly matched by copying it, and often with yet another innovation to counter it. The technological escalation during World War Iwas profound, producing armed aircraft and tanks.

This continued in the period between the end of that war and the next, with continuous improvements of all weapons by all major powers. Many modern military weapons, particularly ground-based ones, are relatively minor improvements on those of World War II. See military technology during World War II for a detailed discussion.

Types

• Personal weapons (or small arms) are designed to be used by a single person.
• Infantry support weapons are larger than personal weapons, requiring more than one crew member to operate correctly.
• Fortification weapons are designed to be mounted in a permanent installation, or used primarily within a fortification.
• Mountain weapons are designed for use by mountain forces or those operating in difficult terrain and harsh climates.
• Vehicle weapons are designed to be mounted on any type of military vehicle.
• Railway weapons are designed to be mounted on railway cars, including armored trains.
• Aircraft weapons are designed to be carried on and used by some type of aircraft, helicopter, or other aerial vehicle.
• Naval weapons are designed to be mounted on ships and submarines.
• Space weapons are designed to be used in or launched from space.

How it works refers to the construction of the weapon and how it operates:

• Antimatter weapons (still theoretical) would combine matter and antimatter to cause a powerful explosion. However, antimatter is still hard to make and harder to store.
• Archery related weapons operate by using a tensioned string to launch a projectile at some target.
• Artillery are large firearms capable of launching heavy projectiles (normally explosive) over long distances.
• Biological weapons spread biological agents, attacking humans (or livestock) by causing disease and infection.
• Chemical weapons spread chemical agents, attacking humans by poisoning and causing reactions.
• Energy weapons rely on concentrating forms of energy to attack, such as lasers, electrical shocks, and thermal or sonic attack.
• Explosive weapons use a physical explosion to create blast concussion or spread shrapnel.
• Firearms use a chemical charge to launch one or more projectiles down a rifled or smoothbore barrel.
• Improvised weapons are common objects that were not designed for combat purposes but are used as such in self defense, guerrilla warfare or a violent crime.
• Incendiary weapons rely on combustible materials and an ignition mechanism to cause damage by fire.
• Non-lethal weapons are used to attack and subdue humans, but are designed to minimize the risk of killing the target.
• Magnetic weapons is one that uses magnetic fields to accelerate and propel projectiles, or to focus charged particle beams.
• Mêlée weapons operate as physical extensions of the user's body and directly impact their target.
• Missiles are rockets which are guided to their target after launch. This is also a general term for projectile weapons.
• Nuclear weapons use radioactive materials to create nuclear fission and/or nuclear fusion detonations above a target (air burst) or at ground-level (ground burst).
• Primitive weapons make little or no use of technological or industrial elements, instead being purely constructed of easily obtainable natural materials.
• Ranged weapons cause a projectile to leave the user and (ideally) strike a target afterwards.
• Rockets use chemical propellant to accelerate a projectile (usually with an explosive warhead) towards a target and are typically unguided once fired.
• Suicide weapons are typically explosive in nature and exploit the willingness of their operator to not survive the attack to reach their target.

What it targets refers to what type of target the weapon is designed to attack:

• Anti-aircraft weapons target enemy aircraft, helicopters, missiles and any other aerial vehicles in flight.
• Anti-fortification weapons are designed to target enemy installations, including bunkers and fortifications. The American bunker busterbomb is designed to travel almost 10 metres underground before detonating, toppling underground installations.
• Anti-personnel weapons are designed to attack people, either individually or in numbers.
• Anti-radiation weapons target enemy sources of electronic radiation, particularly radar emitters.
• Anti-ship weapons target enemy ships and vessels on water.
• Anti-submarine weapons target enemy submarines and other underwater targets.
• Anti-tank weapons are primarily used to defeat armored targets, but may be targeted against other less well armored targets.
• Area denial weapons are designed to target territory, making it unsafe or unsuitable for enemy use or travel.
• Hunting weapons are designed particularly for use against animals for hunting purposes.
• Infantry support weapons are designed to attack various threats to infantry units, supporting the infantry's operations, including heavy machine guns, mortars and pinpoint airstrikes ordered by the infantry, often to strike heavily defended positions, such as enemy camps or extensively powerful machine-gun nests.

Nuclear Weapons Facts and Figures 2006

 

• U.S. stockpile: As of July, 2006, approximately 5,735 operational nuclear warheads are in the U.S. “active” stockpile. About 4,300 additional warheads are retained in the "responsive reserve force" or in an inactive status with their tritium removed.

• World stockpile: Approximately 27,000 total nuclear weapons worldwide in 2006, of which 97% are in U.S. and Russian stockpiles.

• Estimated number of warheads: United States -- 10,104; Russia -- 16,000; People's Republic of China -- 200; France -- 350; United Kingdom -– 200; Israel –- 60; India -- 50; Pakistan -– 40; North Korea - 10

• Nuclear weapon tests: The US has conducted 1030 nuclear weapon tests, ending in 1992. Since 1945, there have been 2058 tests worldwide, 528 of them atmospheric (above-ground).

• Hiroshima: The atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 killed over 137,000 people. Estimated yield of the Hiroshima bomb: 16 kilotons.

• Misplaced resources: United States spending on the current nuclear arsenal plus research is $35 billion per year (nearly 100 million dollars per day). Since 1940, the United States has spent $5.8 trillion on nuclear weapons programs, more than on any other single program except Social Security, according to the Brookings Institute’s Atomic Audit.

• Disarmament: The United States signed and ratified the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 1968; the NPT went into effect in 1970. Article VI of the NPT states that each signatory state commits to pursue“general and complete disarmament under strict and effectiveinternational control.”

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was signed by the United States on September 24, 1996. Signatories to the CTBT pledge to refrain from explosive nuclear weapons tests of any yield, and the treaty establishes a robust verification regime including seismic monitoring and on-site inspections. To enter into force, the CTBT must be ratified by 44 “nuclear-capable” nations including the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, Israel, Japan, India, Pakistan, North Korea and South Korea. 82% of Washington state voters support US ratification of the CTBT, according to a June, 1999 poll. Although President Clinton was the first head of state to sign the CTBT, the United States Senate voted to reject ratification of the CTBT on October 13, 1999. Nevertheless, as of July, 2006, the CTBT has been signed by 176 nations and ratified by 134, including 34 of the 44 “nuclear-capable” nations. One hundred seismic monitoring stations are reporting data to the CTBT International Monitoring System.

• Trident submarines based at Bangor: Eight Trident submarines are based at the Bangor Submarine Base on the Hood Canal in Washington. The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates 1,600 nuclear weapons are kept at Bangor. Each Trident sub based at Bangor carries 24 Trident missiles, 8 warheads each, for a total of 192 warheads per submarine. Six of the Trident subs based at Bangor carry the newer Trident II “D-5” missiles fitted with 475 kiloton warheads. Each warhead is equivalent to 475,000 tons of TNT, or 28 times as powerful as the bomb that leveled Hiroshima. An “upgrade” of the last two subs, the USS Henry M. Jacksonand USS Alabama to carry the D-5 missile is now underway.