when it comes to lethal weapons the us army has no shortage some may be too
expensive some too complex and others may be desired by politicians and defense contractors
nonetheless today's u.s army can generate an astonishing amount of firepower and deliver
it in a variety of settings from small war counter insurgency to big war mechanized combat
ah 64 apaches iconic it is that the best weapon of america's premier land force is an aircraft
but given the conflicts the u.s military has recently fought and is likely to fight air
power is the most decisive factor equipped with a 30 millimeter cannon hellfire missiles and
sophisticated sensors the apache combines speed firepower and range that allows the
army to strike enemies long before they come within firing distance of army ground troops
it's equally useful at hunting down insurgents or decimating enemy armored columns
the apache is fought well in conflicts from desert storm to the current afghan war
m1 abrams whether the m1 abrams is the best tank in the world depends on who you talk to
and more importantly what country they're from but it's indisputably among the world's best weighing
in at 60 tons the m1a2 has a 120 millimeter cannon depleted uranium armor up to three feet thick
and a top speed of more than 40 miles per hour it decimated iraq's soviet-made armor in 1991
and quite possibly would do the same to china's advanced type 99 tank
very few abrams have been destroyed in combat the fact that isis has destroyed or
captured iraqi government m1s says more about the quality of the cruise than the tank
m109 a6 paladin
the us army's hard-hitting self-propelled howitzers have taken a backseat in america's
recent small wars nonetheless they remain highly potent weapons the paladin is the latest version
of the venerable m109 self-propelled gun it can shoot a 155 millimeter shell up to 20 miles
using rocket assisted projectiles it can also fire the gps or laser guided excalibur shell
tow anti-tank missiles
russia or the soviet union seems to be the king of anti-tank missiles
though this probably reflects the pattern of arms sales as well as how great a threat western
designed armor pose to russia and its clients so it's easy to forget that the u.s army is no slouch
either at the anti-tank missile game the army's tow tube launched optically tracked wire-guided
anti-tank missile is still going strong after nearly 45 years of service it's destroyed
tanks mostly russian and vietnam the arab israeli wars and iran iraq war and now syria
the newer tow 2b comes in several versions including a bunker busting missile as well
as the aero model which explodes above the tank to penetrate its thin top armor
m250 caliber machine gun
it may sound strange to classify an 80 year old machine gun as one of the army's best weapons
but the fact the m2 ma deuce is still blasting away after nearly a century in countless wars
is a testament to the fact that it's a remarkable gun
the b-2 has seen service all over the world as an anti-aircraft
anti-vehicle and anti-personnel machine gun that's closer in power to a small cannon
a recently upgraded version the m2a1 features a quick change barrel and a night flash suppressor
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