The technological development especially in the defense industry has allowed armies around
the world to come up with different edge-cutting, sophisticated, out-of-the-world weaponry.
But have you ever wondered which of these weapons are actually loved and favored most
by its users, which are, the soldiers and army officers themselves?
Hello everyone.
Welcome back to another episode of military TV.
Today, we are going to find out the 10 weapons troops absolutely love.
If you are curious about this topic, stay with us and don’t go anywhere.
1.
M134 Minigun Minigun was born during the Vietnam War, a
period when the American forces explore alternatives on how to develop a more reliable weapon with
a higher rate of fire.
Subsequently, the General Electric designers decided to scale down the rotary-barrel 20
mm M61 Vulcan cannon for 7.62x51mm NATO ammunition.
Then the M134 which is also dubbed with the name “Minigun” was invented.
Surprisingly, Minigun can fire up to 6,000 rounds per minute without overheating itself.
It accentuates a Gatling-style rotating barrel assembly with an external power source, which
is normally an electric motor.
A reference regarding its name “Mini” mentioned that it was compared to larger designs
which feature a rotary barrel, such as General Electric’s previously known 20 mm M61 Vulcan.
M134 was mainly designed to be used by helicopters to subdue enemy soldiers, and it still eats
through infantry formations today.
2.
Mk 19 Produced by the Saco Defence Industries, a
division of General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, Mk 19 is an American 40
mm belt-fed automatic grenade launcher first made during the Vietnam War.
The special thing about Mk 19 is that this automatic launcher can fire the grenades at
targets nearly a mile away.
For fighting the infantry, each grenade it launches can eliminate targets within 5 meters
of its effect and hurt people within 15 meters.
It is even capable of punching through some armoured personnel carriers and many light-weighted
vehicles.
Operating on the blowback principle, the weapon utilizes the pressure of the chamber from
each round fired to load and re-cock the launcher.
Not only that, Mk 19 is skilled to launch its grenades as far as 2,212 meters, though
the it works best when a point target is about 1,500 meters in distance, since the large
rear leaf sight can only graduate that far.
3.
Mortars Have been used for hundreds of years, the
earliest mortar was known to be used in Korea in a 15th century naval battle when the gunsmiths
of Korea attempted to develop gourd-shaped mortar, which dated back to as early as 1407.
Mortars are typically being used as ancillary fire weapons for close fire support with a
range of ammunition.
Mortars have been widely known as a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weaponry,
with a smooth-bore metal tube or rifled barrel fixed to a base plate.
It also features lightweight bipod mount and a sight.
When soldiers of particular infantry come across attack, mortar is useful when they
don’t wish to wait for close air support or artillery strikes.
Mortars can provide the army units with opportunity to drop rounds immediately on the enemy without
the need to request help.
The It can also shoot explosive shells which can be categorized as bombs, in highly-curved
ballistic trajectories.
Some efforts to lessen the mortar’s weight by the army are making the weapon becoming
more popular.
4.
M3 Carl Gustav The M3 is a breech loaded, percussion fired,
recoil-less, shoulder-controlled weapon that is highly accurate and versatile.
This version was designed to persist arctic, tropic and desert conditions better than the
M1 or M2 versions.
The M3 Carl Gustav Recoilless Rifle can shoot a number of lethal rounds to destroy tanks,
bunkers, or infantry formations.
Originally hoarded in the U.S. by Special Operations Command, the Army purchased it
for conventional units because it owned better range and firepower compared to the more common
AT-4.
in Swedish service as the Granatgevär m/48, or "grenade rifle", Carl Gustav is a man-portable
reusable anti-tank weapon originally produced by Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori which
later was merged into Saab Bofors Dynamics in Sweden.
Starting to be developed in 1946, it was one of the recoilless rifle designs of that era.
5.
TOW Missile Known as an anti-tank guided-missiles, TOW
is one of the most widely used weapons to attack the tanks in the battlefield.
It is most seen in a wide variety of manually carried and vehicle mounted forms, along with
common use on helicopters.
TOW missile is presently manufactured by Raytheon, though initially designed by Hughes Aircraft
in the 1960s.
U.S. Military designated the TOW as a Ballistic Guide Missile (BGM).
TOW missiles are tube-launched and can be either wire-guided or wireless guided.
It is great against fortified and armoured targets at an amazing range of nearly three
miles.
The missiles also have portable launchers which are transportable by infantry.
The usage of TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the ENTAC or SS.10, as it offers approximately
twice the effective range and has higher power on warhead as well as an enhanced semi-automatic
guidance system that could also be equipped with infrared cameras for night time.
6.
M2 Browning Quite possible the treasured weapon of troops
from World War II to today, the .50 Cal largely remains the same after over 90 years of service.
The M2 .50 Caliber Machine Gun is an automatic, recoil operated, air-cooled machine gun featuring
headspace that can be adjusted and is transportable with limited numbers of ammunition by short
distances.
The reposition of some of the component parts, may enable the ammunition be fed from either
the right or left side.
Mounted on ground mounts and most transportation as an anti-personnel and anti-aircraft weapon,
the gun has a back plate with spade grips, trigger, as well as bolt latch release.
It is notable for firing half-inch rounds at up to 550 rounds per minute, drowning low-flying
aircraft, enemy infantry and other light vehicles.
It’s so reliable that after the Army began overhauling M2s in 2011, they discovered a
weapon that’s capable to fire perfectly even after 90 years.
7.
AH-64 Apache Began as the model 77 developed by Hughes
Helicopters for the United States Army, the development of AH-64 Apache was initially
meant for the Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the AH-1 Cobra.
First flight of the prototype YAH-64 was done on 30 September 1975 and following the approval,
full production began in 1982.
The helicopter was presented to U.S. Army service in April 1986.
McDonnell Douglas continued AH-64 production and development after purchasing Hughes Helicopters
in 1984.
Boasted as one of the world’s premier attack helicopters, the AH-64 Apache is skilled to
fly at over 173 mph, climb at 2,000 feet per minute, and carries Hellfire missiles as well
as 30mm grenades, and 70mm rockets.
Designed for the role of an anti-tank, Apaches are great at covering and supporting infantry
on the ground and has prominent systems redundancy to improve the chance of surviving combats.
8.
A-10 Famous for being favoured by most troops,
A-10 is operated by the Air Force and was built around a 30mm gatling gun, interestingly
skilled at carrying and precisely delivering explosive, mines, rockets and missiles.
Also known by its other name Warthog, A-10 is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing,
subsonic attack aircraft produced by Fairchild-Republic for the United States Air Force.
It is named for the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, a fighter-bomber effective in the World War
II era utilized for attacking ground targets, but A-10 is mostly referred as the “Warthog”
or “Hog” by troops.
In service since 1976, the Warthog was developed to provide close air support to troops engaging
in ground missions by launching attacks towards armoured vehicles, tanks and other enemy forces.
For secondary mission, it is used to direct other aircraft in attacks on ground targets,
and the aircraft used primarily in this role are designated OA-10.
9.
M1 Abrams Carrying a 120mm smoothbore main gun and can
be attached with machine guns, M1 Abrams is the main battle tank of the United States’
Marines and Army.
Weighted at almost 70 tons, the tank can race transversely around the battlefield at more
than 40 miles per hour.
Known for being a third-generation American main battle tank and named after General Creighton
Abrams, M1 Abrams was designed by Chrysler Defense, which now goes by the name General
Dynamics Land Systems.
M1 Abrams is one of the heaviest tanks in service at the moment at nearly 68 short tons,
and conceived for modern armoured ground warfare.
Several innovative features introduced by Abrams include a multifuel turbine engine,
a computer fire control system, separate ammunition storage in a blow-out compartment, NBC protection
for crew, as well as the refined Chobham composite armour.
Initially, models of the M1 were fitted with a licensed-produced 105 mm Royal Ordnance
L7 gun, while other variants of it accentuated with a licensed tank gun Rheinmetall 120 mm
L/44.
10.
M777 Howitzer Howitzer is a towed 155 mm artillery cannon.
Being used by several ground forces like India, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the United
States, Howitzer made its debut in the Afghanistan War.
The Global Combat division of the BAE Systems is the manufacturer of Howitzer, with prime
contract management, assembly of the titanium structures and associated recoil components
located in Barrow-in-Furness, United Kingdom.
BAE’s facility in Hattiesburg, Mississippi became the location for the final integration
and testing of the weapon.
Weighted at 4,200 kilograms, the M777 is reportedly 41% less heavy than the 7,154 kilograms M198
Howitzer which it replaced.
It was noted that much of the reduction in weight is caused by the extensive utilization
of titanium.
The M777 can be carried by helicopter sling-load, transporter aircraft such as the C-130, or
towed by air-braked vehicles.
That’s all for today.
Thank you for watching and see you in next episode!