U.S military is the most powerful force in the world.
It has more an annual budget of more than $700 billion which almost 3 times the budget
of next competitor China.
The U.S military has a huge arsenal of sophisticated weapons and makes for a very interesting analysis.
In this video Defense Updates lists top 10 operational American weapons sequenced in
ascending order of lethality.
Let's gets started.
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The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic
bomber.
It has been operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) since the 1950s.
Superior performance at high subsonic speeds and relatively low operating costs have kept
the B-52 in service despite the advent of more advanced bombers.
After being upgraded between 2013 and 2015, it is supposed to serve into the 2040s.
The powerful engines also enable B 52 to carry up to 70,000 pounds (32,000 kg) of weapons,
which is significantly higher than 50,000 pounds payload capacity of B 2 Spirit & B1B.
The B 52 is capable of carrying both conventional as well as nuclear weapons including cruise
missiles apart from bombs.
A total of 194 B-52Gs and Hs were modified to carry AGM-86s, carrying 12 missiles on
underwing pylons, with 82 B-52Hs further modified to carry another 8 missiles on a rotary launcher
fitted in the bomb-bay.
The AGM-86 is a subsonic air-launched cruise missile with a range of 2,400 km.
The missile deploys W80 thermonuclear warhead which has a variable yield of between 5 and
150 kt of TNT.
Depending on variant G or H, B 52 will be able to launch 12 or 20 of these W80 warheads
carried by AGM-86 missile.
This means a single aircraft has a destructive capacity of 12 * 150 that is 1800 or 20 * 150
that is 3000 kt tons of TNT.
The F 35 Lightning II is a single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole fighters developed
by Lockheed Martin of United States.
There are 3 variants meant for different launch platforms.
F-35's stealthy design makes it capable of functioning in extremely high-threat environments
and initiate attack even against advanced enemy air defenses.
F 35 can carry a wide variety of air to land and air to air missile.
The arsenal includes GBU-32 and GBU-12 air-dropped bombs, AIM-120 and AIM-9x air-to-air missiles
and a 25mm cannon.
F 35s can also act as a force multiplier.
It is compatible with the Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air network, or NIFC-CA.
NIFC-CA basically is a network architecture that combines several different sensors, datelines,
and munitions.
NIFC-CA allows F 35s to pass targeting data to other military assets like a warship armed
with SM-6 missiles which can then use that data to hit the targets.
Arleigh Burke-class warships were designed as multi-mission destroyers capable of Anti
Aircraft Warfare (AAW), Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Anti Surface Warfare (ASuW).
U.S Navy has 66 Arleigh Burke-class warships in active service and USS Ross is the 21st
destroyer of the class.
The class has an overall length of 509 feet (155 m) and displacement of about 9,200 tons.
The Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers (DDGs) is the United States Navy's
first class of destroyers built around the Aegis Combat System.
The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System is a United States Department of Defense Missile
Defense Agency program, developed to provide missile defense against short to intermediate-range
ballistic missiles.
This class of destroyer is very well equipped and is designed to be a multi-weapons platform.
It has around 90 cell Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) that can be equipped with BGM-109
Tomahawk cruise missile for Land attack, RIM-66 Standard Missile 2 (SM 2) Surface to Air Missile
for air defense, RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) for AEGIS ballistic missile defense
and RUM-139 VL-ASROC Missile for Anti Submarine Role
Apart from these, the warship has Mk 141 Harpoon Missile Launcher for Anti Ship role, Mark
32 triple torpedo tubes are present launching Mk-46 or Mk-50 torpedoes and 2 MH-60R Seahawk
LAMPS III helicopters are also present for Anti Submarine Warfare.
Virginia class submarines are designed to hunt enemy’s surface ships & submarines
as well as take out land targets.
Virginia class has a length of 115 m.
The class is acknowledged to be able to move to depths of 240m (800 feet) but allegedly
capable of going down to 490 m (1,600 feet).
A single S9G reactor that produces around 30 MW powers Virginia class.
The S9G reactor is designed to operate for 33 years without refueling.
So, the submarines of this class practically have unlimited range, limited by only food
supplies and maintenance requirements.
The reactor produces enough power to propel the submarines over 25 knots that is 46 km/hr
or 29 mph.
The Virginia class is the first to use photonic sensors instead of a traditional periscope.
The class is equipped with high-resolution cameras, along with light-intensification
and infrared sensors as well as an infrared laser rangefinder.
Virginia class is deadly as it is packed with different kinds of weapons to knock out varied
targets.
This includes Tomahawk cruise missiles as well as capacity to carry 24 Mk-48 torpedoes.
Apart from these like all Virginia class subs can also lay different types of mines including
the MK-60 CAPTOR Encapsulated Torpedo mines.
F 22 Raptor is the first operational aircraft to combine super-cruise, super-maneuverability,
sensor fusion and stealth in a single platform.
Supercruise is the ability to have sustained supersonic flight without having to use the
highly inefficient afterburners.
With this F 22 can intercept targets which subsonic aircraft would lack the speed to
pursue and an afterburner-dependent aircraft would lack the fuel to reach.
F 22 incorporates super-maneuverability which makes it a capable dogfighter.
The AN/APG-77 radar in F 22 Raptor has no compromises and this keeps it at the top even
today.
The AN/APG-77 radar features a low-observable, active-aperture, electronically scanned array
that can track multiple targets under any weather conditions.
It has a range of around 400 km against 1 m2 target.
This radar can also be used for electronic-attack by focussing its signals on the enemy to overload
their sensors.
F 22 Raptor is developed from grounds up to be stealthy.
F22 is the stealthiest fighter ever build & has very low RCS (Radar Cross Section) of
only 0.0001 m2.
It achieves this due to its structural design as well as the use of Radar Absorbing Materials (RAM).
Stealthy design is mostly attributed to warplanes.
But Zumwalt-class brings the stealth to a major warship.
Zumwalt-class destroyers displace 15,742 tons and feature unique wave-piercing tumblehome
hulls.
The design significantly reduces the radar cross-section since the slope makes the hull
return very less radar signal that is directed to it when compared to a traditional hull.
The Zumwalt-class has 80 MK57 cells protected by Peripheral Vertical Launch System (PVLS).
The important part is that each of these cells is capable of accommodating 4 different missiles
which include SM-1, SM-2, and SM-6 missiles or Tomahawk land-attack missiles.
So, Zumwalt-class can go to a mission armed with different weapons payload depending on
the scenario.
The B-2 Spirit was developed to take over the United States Air Force’s (USAF) vital
penetration missions, able to travel deep into enemy territory to deploy their ordnance,
which could include nuclear weapons.
The B-2 is a flying wing aircraft, meaning it has no fuselage or tail.
The blending of low-observable technologies with high aerodynamic efficiency and large
payload makes B 2 Spirit the most potent bomber in the world.
Even after around two decades from its introduction on 1 January 1997, there is still nothing
to match it.
B-2 Spirit has a maximum speed of Mach 0.95.
The U.S. Air Force reports B2’s range as approximately 6,900 miles or 11,000 km.
B2 has an excellent payload, it has 2 integrated bays for ordnance with an official limit of
40,000 lb (18,000 kg) and maximum estimated limit of 50,000 lb (23,000 kg).
Apart from different types of conventional bombs, B 2 can carry 16× B61 or B83 nuclear
bombs on Rotary Launcher Assembly (RLA).
The B61 nuclear bomb is the primary thermonuclear gravity bomb in the U.S. cache.
The B61 is a variable yield, kiloton-range weapon.
Tactical versions (Mods 3, 4, and 10) can be set to 0.3, 1.5, 5, 10, 45, 60, 80, or
170 kilotons explosive yield.
The strategic version (B61 Mod 7) has 4 yield options, with a maximum of 340 kilotons.
The B83 thermonuclear weapon is a variable-yield gravity bomb developed by the United States
in the late 1970s and with a maximum yield of 1.2 megatons of TNT, it is the most powerful
free-fall nuclear weapon in the United States arsenal.
Nimitz class has a displacement of 100000 tonnes, and an overall length of 332.8 m (1,092 feet).
To give viewers a perspective, it is about 3 football fields long.
It uses nuclear power, it is can does not need constant refueling in regular intervals
like traditional non nuclear-powered vessels.
The Nimitz class carries a wide variety of defensive weapons that make it hard to targets.
Nimitz class carries can carry a flight group of more than 80 aircraft, including F-18 jet
fighters, E-2D Hawkeye surveillance planes and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft
apart from several kinds of supporting assets and is in the process of having F 35s
The F-35C brings stealth attack technology to the carrier flight deck for the first time.
There is no other aircraft that is stealthy and can operate from carriers.
F-35C enable Nimitz class supercarriers to initiate attack even against advanced enemy
air defenses and function in extremely high-threat environments.
Minuteman series of missile gained range with the incremental versions and the Minuteman
III is acknowledged to have an operational range of 13,000 km (8,100 miles), though the
exact range is classified.
As per many analysts, the missile actually can travel as far as 16,000 km depending up
the warhead configuration.
A multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) is a ballistic missile payload
containing several warheads, each capable of being aimed to hit a different target.
Minuteman III was the first true MIRV-capable missile.
It can carry a maximum of 3 warheads and these can be independently targeted against 3 different
locations
It carries W78 or W87 warhead.
The W78 has a publicly announced yield of 335–350 kilotons of TNT.
The W87 is an improvement on W78 and has max yield of 475 kilotons.
So, a single missile is capable of unleashing the destructive power of around 1000 to 1400
kt of TNT.
The US Ohio class submarine is a geniun doomsday weapon.
They displace around 18,750 tonnes and are nuclear powered with practically unlimited
range and endurance.
The 14 Ballistic Missile Submarines of Ohio class together carry approximately 50% of
the total US active inventory of strategic thermonuclear warheads.
Each of these carry 24 UGM-133A Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM),
built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems.
The Trident II is Multiple Independently Reentry vehicle (MIRV) capable and hence can carry
multiple warheads with each warhead being assigned to a different target.
It can be configured with 2 types of MIRV.
The Mark 5 MIRV can carry up to 14 W88 (475 kt) warheads, while the Mark 4 MIRV having
the ability to carry 14 W76 (100 kt) warheads.
To give the viewer a perspective, Little Boy atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima had a yield
of 15 kt of TNT and Fat Man atomic bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki had a yield of
21 kt of TNT.
New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) between the United States and the Russian
Federation agreed on having only 8 warheads per missile, so currently, Trident II has
MIRV with 8 warheads.
A full salvo from an Ohio-class submarine—which can be launched in less than one minute—could
unleash up to 24 Trident II missiles each with 8 warheads i.e. 192 nuclear warheads
in total.
This is enough to obliterate a huge portion of the earth’s land mass.